Nigeria ranks ninth out of the 10 countries with the highest number of deportees during the review period, according to the latest statistics from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
Nigeria also ranks fifth among nationalities with the highest number of pending removals, marking a major shift in immigration enforcement in North America.
Records show that 366 Nigerians were deported from January to October 2025. This surge is the highest in 10 years.
Also read: Canada removes 974 faces in crackdown, deports 366 Nigerians
Additionally, 974 Nigerians are currently classified as “in deportation”, indicating that they are awaiting final deportation.
World ranking: 2025 removal data
Nigeria remains the only African country to feature in the top 10 list for both completed and pending removals.
In terms of global rankings in 2025, Mexico leads the list of completed removals with 3,972, followed by India with 2,831 and Haiti with 2,012, according to the data. Nigeria ranks ninth on this list with 366 completed deportations. Other countries in the top 10 include Colombia (737th), Romania (672nd), the United States (656th), Venezuela (562nd), China (385th), and Pakistan (359th).
Regarding the number of backlogs of cases that are “in progress for removal,” India has the largest number of cases at 6,515, followed by Mexico at 4,650 and the United States at 1,704. Nigeria ranks fifth in this category, with 974 people currently awaiting removal. The rest of the list of top 10 pending cases are China (1,430 cases), Colombia (895 cases), Pakistan (863 cases), Haiti (741 cases), Brazil (650 cases), and Chile (621 cases).
Related article: Number of deportations of Canadian asylum seekers reaches highest in 10 years
A decade of fluctuating numbers
Nigeria’s re-emergence on the top 10 list of deported nationalities shows a marked difference from recent years.
In 2019, 339 Nigerians were excluded, but the number has steadily declined during the pandemic, dropping to just 199 in 2022. Notably, Nigeria is not in the top 10 of the 2023 and 2024 rankings.
However, the 2025 data shows an 8% increase compared to 2019 levels, which occurs within just 10 months of the calendar year.
The surge coincides with a broader policy shift in Canada, with the CBSA now deporting about 400 foreign nationals each week.
Also read: Canada’s plan to abolish open work permits raises new concerns for Nigerian immigrants
Execution costs
During the 2024-2025 financial year, Canadian authorities deported a total of 18,048 people, at an estimated public cost of $78 million (£44 million).
Under the country’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the CBSA is legally required to expel foreign nationals deemed ineligible for entry.
Reasons for deportation range from national security concerns and criminal activity to financial disallowance and violations of visa conditions. However, the data confirms that ‘failed asylum seekers’ account for the majority of cases, accounting for 83 per cent of all deportations.
