Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Nigeria
Nigeria: Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes was 22.4% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Nigeria, 2000–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Nigeria recorded 22.4% for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 26 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.9% on the previous year and down 21.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Nigeria peaked at 31.2% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 22.4%, in 2025.
Nigeria ranks 29th of 206 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 26 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 31.2% | — |
| 2001 | 29.8% | -4.5% |
| 2002 | 29.1% | -2.3% |
| 2003 | 29.0% | -0.3% |
| 2004 | 29.3% | +1.0% |
| 2005 | 29.5% | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 29.8% | +1.0% |
| 2007 | 30.0% | +0.7% |
| 2008 | 30.0% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 29.8% | -0.7% |
| 2010 | 29.3% | -1.7% |
| 2011 | 28.8% | -1.7% |
| 2012 | 28.8% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 28.6% | -0.7% |
| 2014 | 28.5% | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 28.4% | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 28.5% | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 28.4% | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 27.9% | -1.8% |
| 2019 | 27.4% | -1.8% |
| 2020 | 26.6% | -2.9% |
| 2021 | 25.7% | -3.4% |
| 2022 | 24.8% | -3.5% |
| 2023 | 24.0% | -3.2% |
| 2024 | 23.3% | -2.9% |
| 2025 | 22.4% | -3.9% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 22.4% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 9.6%, 2.3× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 22.4% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 16.5%, 1.4× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 29.8% | 29.0% | 31.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 28.5% | 27.4% | 29.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 24.5% | 22.4% | 26.6% | 6 |
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 children of primary school age, both sexes in Nigeria?
- Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Nigeria was 22.4% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 31.2% in 2000.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 22.4% in 2025.
- How does Nigeria rank for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes?
- Nigeria ranks 29th out of 206 countries with data for 2025.
- Is out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 21.1%. 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 children of primary school age, both sexes (modelled data) (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release