Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Nigeria
Nigeria: Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age was 10.3% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Nigeria, 2003–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Nigeria stood at 10.3%.
That represents a change of up 2.2% on the previous year and down 4.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Nigeria peaked at 20.4% in 2003 and was at its lowest, 7.0%, in 2011.
Nigeria ranks 16th of 46 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 10 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 20.4% | — |
| 2007 | 19.1% | -6.5% |
| 2008 | 11.6% | -39.1% |
| 2011 | 7.0% | -39.8% |
| 2013 | 10.8% | +54.4% |
| 2016 | 13.3% | +23.6% |
| 2018 | 11.9% | -10.4% |
| 2019 | 13.6% | +14.3% |
| 2021 | 10.1% | -26.1% |
| 2024 | 10.3% | +2.2% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 10.3% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 11.2%, 92% of the median. (18 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 10.3% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 12.1%, 85% of the median. (21 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 17.0% | 11.6% | 20.4% | 3 |
| 2010s | 11.3% | 7.0% | 13.6% | 5 |
| 2020s | 10.2% | 10.1% | 10.3% | 2 |
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 out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Nigeria?
- Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Nigeria was 10.3% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 20.4% in 2003.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.0% in 2011.
- How does Nigeria rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age?
- Nigeria ranks 16th out of 46 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nigeria data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age, urban, both sexes (household survey data) (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 10 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release