Gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Nigeria
Nigeria: Gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education was 74.5% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Nigeria, 1999–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Nigeria stood at 74.5%. That is the highest value across all 10 years on record.
That represents a change of up 32.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Nigeria peaked at 74.5% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 54.7%, in 2008.
That places Nigeria 168th out of 190 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 10 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 55.6% | 55.6% | 55.6% | 1 |
| 2000s | 58.6% | 54.7% | 61.2% | 7 |
| 2010s | 56.1% | 56.1% | 56.1% | 1 |
| 2020s | 74.5% | 74.5% | 74.5% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More education data for Nigeria
- Duration of pre-primary education 1 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 5 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 56.4% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 40.5% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 89.6% (2023)
- Primary education, teachers 913,305 (2021)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 4.38 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 88.2% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Nigeria?
- Gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Nigeria was 74.5% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 74.5% in 2023.
- What is the lowest gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 54.7% in 2008.
- How does Nigeria rank for gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education?
- Nigeria ranks 168th out of 190 countries with data for 2023.
- Is gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 32.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Nigeria data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 10 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The share of girls of primary school age (typically 6–11 years) who are enrolled in primary education.