Ethiopia vs Nigeria: Primary-school-age children who are out of school by world region
Ethiopia
4.24 million children
in 2024
Nigeria
9.07 million children
in 2023
Ethiopia rank
4th
Nigeria rank
1st
Primary-school-age children who are out of school by world region over time
- Ethiopia
- Nigeria
How they compare
Nigeria currently reports 9.07 million children against 4.24 million children in Ethiopia, a difference of 4.83 million children.
That makes Nigeria's figure about 2.1 times Ethiopia's.
Across all 10 years both countries report, Nigeria has been ahead every year.
Ethiopia ranks 4th and Nigeria ranks 1st of 196 countries.
Nigeria has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Ethiopia | Nigeria | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 6.96 million children | 7.54 million children | 586,760 children | Nigeria |
| 2000s | 5.27 million children | 8.43 million children | 3.16 million children | Nigeria |
| 2010s | 4.34 million children | 10.29 million children | 5.95 million children | Nigeria |
| 2020s | 4.42 million children | 9.07 million children | 4.65 million children | Nigeria |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher primary-school-age children who are out of school by world region, Ethiopia or Nigeria?
- Nigeria, at 9.07 million children against 4.24 million children in Ethiopia as of 2023.
- What is the difference in primary-school-age children who are out of school by world region between Ethiopia and Nigeria?
- 4.83 million children, with Nigeria ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Ethiopia and Nigeria?
- 10 years are reported by both, from 1999 to 2023.
- How do Ethiopia and Nigeria rank globally for primary-school-age children who are out of school by world region?
- Ethiopia ranks 4th and Nigeria ranks 1st of 196 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Primary-school-age children who are out of school by world region. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Children in the official primary school age range who are not enrolled in either primary or secondary education.