Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Nigeria
Nigeria: Government spending on education as a share of GDP was 0.3% in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Nigeria, 1974–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Nigeria recorded 0.3% for government spending on education as a share of gdp in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 14 years on record.
The figure is down 8.4% on the previous year and down 40.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government spending on education as a share of gdp in Nigeria peaked at 3.2% in 1974 and was at its lowest, 0.3%, in 2023.
Nigeria ranks 198th of 199 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | 3.2% | — |
| 1975 | 3.1% | -4.6% |
| 2012 | 0.5% | -82.1% |
| 2013 | 0.5% | -2.7% |
| 2014 | 0.5% | -11.9% |
| 2015 | 0.4% | -7.2% |
| 2016 | 0.4% | -10.0% |
| 2017 | 0.4% | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 0.4% | +6.0% |
| 2019 | 0.4% | -14.6% |
| 2020 | 0.4% | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 0.4% | +6.2% |
| 2022 | 0.3% | -8.7% |
| 2023 | 0.3% | -8.4% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 0.3% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 4.0%, 8% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 0.3% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.2%, 10% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Nigeria changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | -82.1% | 3.1% | 0.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 3.1% | 3.1% | 3.2% | 2 |
| 2010s | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 8 |
| 2020s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More education data for Nigeria
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 912,245 (2021)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 1.08 million (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 1.24 million (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 15.20 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 33.42 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.18 % change on previous year (2021)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1466 units per person (2023)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government spending on education as a share of gdp in Nigeria?
- Government spending on education as a share of gdp in Nigeria was 0.3% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest government spending on education as a share of gdp recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 3.2% in 1974.
- What is the lowest government spending on education as a share of gdp recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3% in 2023.
- How does Nigeria rank for government spending on education as a share of gdp?
- Nigeria ranks 198th out of 199 countries with data for 2023.
- Is government spending on education as a share of gdp rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 40.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Nigeria data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Government spending on education as a share of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Total annual general government spending on all levels of education, expressed as a percentage of GDP.