Net attendance rate of primary school in Nigeria

Nigeria: Net attendance rate of primary school was 72.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
72.1%
Change on year
down 3.1%
World rank
33rd
of 36 countries
All-time high
75.2%
in 2011
All-time low
61.9%
in 2007
Years of data
10
2003–2024

Net attendance rate of primary school in Nigeria, 2003–2024

0204060802003201320242003: 70.6 %2007: 61.9 %2008: 71 %2011: 75.2 %2013: 71.1 %2016: 66.4 %2018: 71.8 %2019: 71.6 %2021: 74.4 %2024: 72.1 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2024, net attendance rate of primary school in Nigeria stood at 72.1%.

That represents a change of down 3.1% on the previous year and up 1.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, net attendance rate of primary school in Nigeria peaked at 75.2% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 61.9%, in 2007.

That places Nigeria 33rd out of 36 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 10 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 67.9% 61.9% 71.0% 3
2010s 71.2% 66.4% 75.2% 5
2020s 73.2% 72.1% 74.4% 2

Countries ranked near Nigeria

  1. 30 Tanzania 83.9% compare
  2. 31 Benin 75.5% compare
  3. 32 Gambia 75.0% compare
  4. 34 Ethiopia 68.6% compare
  5. 35 Senegal 63.4% compare
  6. 36 Mali 62.8% compare

See the full ranking of 36 places →

More education data for Nigeria

All data for Nigeria →

Frequently asked questions

What is net attendance rate of primary school in Nigeria?
Net attendance rate of primary school in Nigeria was 72.1% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest net attendance rate of primary school recorded in Nigeria?
The highest recorded value was 75.2% in 2011.
What is the lowest net attendance rate of primary school recorded in Nigeria?
The lowest recorded value was 61.9% in 2007.
How does Nigeria rank for net attendance rate of primary school?
Nigeria ranks 33rd out of 36 countries with data for 2024.
Is net attendance rate of primary school rising or falling in Nigeria?
Over the last ten years it is up 1.4%. 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) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Net attendance rate of primary school. 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

Indicator
Net attendance rate of primary school
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
36 places, 426 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

Total number of students of the official age group for primary education who are attending school at any level of education, expressed as a percentage of the corresponding population.