Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Nigeria
Nigeria: Share of children in primary school age who are in school was 75.7% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of children in primary school age who are in school 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
Nigeria recorded 75.7% for share of children in primary school age who are in school in 2023. That is the highest value across all 10 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 22.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children in primary school age who are in school in Nigeria peaked at 75.7% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 61.1%, in 2008.
Nigeria ranks 186th of 209 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 10 years of available data.
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 61.4% | — |
| 2000 | 64.0% | +4.3% |
| 2004 | 64.6% | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 65.0% | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 65.2% | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 67.6% | +3.8% |
| 2008 | 61.1% | -9.6% |
| 2009 | 62.1% | +1.5% |
| 2010 | 61.9% | -0.3% |
| 2023 | 75.7% | +22.3% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 75.7% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 93.7%, 81% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 75.7% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 84.5%, 90% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 61.4% | 61.4% | 61.4% | 1 |
| 2000s | 64.2% | 61.1% | 67.6% | 7 |
| 2010s | 61.9% | 61.9% | 61.9% | 1 |
| 2020s | 75.7% | 75.7% | 75.7% | 1 |
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 share of children in primary school age who are in school in Nigeria?
- Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Nigeria was 75.7% 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 share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 75.7% in 2023.
- What is the lowest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 61.1% in 2008.
- How does Nigeria rank for share of children in primary school age who are in school?
- Nigeria ranks 186th out of 209 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of children in primary school age who are in school rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 22.3%. 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 Share of children in primary school age who are in school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Share of children of primary school age (typically 6–11 years) who are enrolled in primary education.