Lesotho vs Nigeria: Average years of schooling among adults

Lesotho
7.73 years
in 2023
Nigeria
7.59 years
in 2023
Lesotho rank
129th
Nigeria rank
131st

Average years of schooling among adults over time

  • Lesotho
  • Nigeria
02468199020062023

How they compare

Lesotho currently reports 7.73 years against 7.59 years in Nigeria, a difference of 0.14 years.

The two have swapped places 4 times across 34 shared years of data; in 1990 it was Lesotho ahead.

Lesotho ranks 129th and Nigeria ranks 131st of 192 countries.

Across the 4 decades both report, Lesotho averaged higher in 3 and Nigeria in 1.

Head to head by decade

Decade Lesotho Nigeria Difference Ahead
1990s 4.5 years 3.54 years 0.9534 years Lesotho
2000s 5.59 years 5.39 years 0.2044 years Lesotho
2010s 6.61 years 6.66 years 0.0455 years Nigeria
2020s 7.68 years 7.54 years 0.1467 years Lesotho

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher average years of schooling among adults, Lesotho or Nigeria?
Lesotho, at 7.73 years against 7.59 years in Nigeria as of 2023.
What is the difference in average years of schooling among adults between Lesotho and Nigeria?
0.14 years, with Lesotho ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Lesotho and Nigeria?
34 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2023.
How do Lesotho and Nigeria rank globally for average years of schooling among adults?
Lesotho ranks 129th and Nigeria ranks 131st of 192 countries.
Where does this data come from?
UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Average years of schooling among adults. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Average years of schooling among adults
Unit
years
Source
UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
192 places, 6,079 data points, 1990–2023
Last refreshed

Average number of years (excluding years spent repeating individual grades) adults over 25 years participated in formal education.