School age population, one year before the official primary entry in Nigeria
Nigeria: School age population, one year before the official primary entry was 3.25 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
3.25 million
Change on year
down 0.3%
World rank
3rd
of 222 countries
All-time high
3.28 million
in 2021
All-time low
790,764
in 1970
Years of data
56
1970–2025
School age population, one year before the official primary entry in Nigeria, 1970–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
In 2025, school age population, one year before the official primary entry in Nigeria stood at 3.25 million.
That represents a change of down 0.3% on the previous year and up 8.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, one year before the official primary entry in Nigeria peaked at 3.28 million in 2021 and was at its lowest, 790,764, in 1970.
Nigeria ranks 3rd of 222 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 56 years of available data.
School age population, one year before the official primary entry in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 790,764 | — |
| 1971 | 814,525 | +3.0% |
| 1972 | 840,997 | +3.2% |
| 1973 | 868,312 | +3.2% |
| 1974 | 898,240 | +3.4% |
| 1975 | 928,355 | +3.4% |
| 1976 | 960,785 | +3.5% |
| 1977 | 1.00 million | +4.1% |
| 1978 | 1.04 million | +3.9% |
| 1979 | 1.08 million | +4.2% |
| 1980 | 1.14 million | +5.0% |
| 1981 | 1.19 million | +4.9% |
| 1982 | 1.24 million | +4.0% |
| 1983 | 1.29 million | +4.0% |
| 1984 | 1.33 million | +3.3% |
| 1985 | 1.37 million | +2.6% |
| 1986 | 1.40 million | +2.4% |
| 1987 | 1.43 million | +2.4% |
| 1988 | 1.47 million | +2.4% |
| 1989 | 1.51 million | +2.7% |
| 1990 | 1.53 million | +1.1% |
| 1991 | 1.55 million | +1.4% |
| 1992 | 1.57 million | +1.3% |
| 1993 | 1.60 million | +1.7% |
| 1994 | 1.64 million | +2.5% |
| 1995 | 1.69 million | +3.0% |
| 1996 | 1.72 million | +2.2% |
| 1997 | 1.76 million | +2.3% |
| 1998 | 1.81 million | +2.7% |
| 1999 | 1.86 million | +2.8% |
| 2000 | 1.91 million | +2.8% |
| 2001 | 1.98 million | +3.3% |
| 2002 | 2.03 million | +2.6% |
| 2003 | 2.08 million | +2.4% |
| 2004 | 2.13 million | +2.6% |
| 2005 | 2.21 million | +3.9% |
| 2006 | 2.31 million | +4.4% |
| 2007 | 2.39 million | +3.5% |
| 2008 | 2.46 million | +3.1% |
| 2009 | 2.54 million | +3.2% |
| 2010 | 2.61 million | +2.8% |
| 2011 | 2.70 million | +3.1% |
| 2012 | 2.77 million | +2.9% |
| 2013 | 2.84 million | +2.6% |
| 2014 | 2.93 million | +3.0% |
| 2015 | 3.00 million | +2.4% |
| 2016 | 3.07 million | +2.2% |
| 2017 | 3.13 million | +2.2% |
| 2018 | 3.18 million | +1.3% |
| 2019 | 3.21 million | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 3.26 million | +1.6% |
| 2021 | 3.28 million | +0.5% |
| 2022 | 3.27 million | -0.3% |
| 2023 | 3.27 million | -0.2% |
| 2024 | 3.26 million | -0.2% |
| 2025 | 3.25 million | -0.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 922,617 | 790,764 | 1.08 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.34 million | 1.14 million | 1.51 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.67 million | 1.53 million | 1.86 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.20 million | 1.91 million | 2.54 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.94 million | 2.61 million | 3.21 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.27 million | 3.25 million | 3.28 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More education data for Nigeria
- 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)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 33.42 million (2023)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth 1.18 % change on previous year (2021)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), per capita 0.1466 units per person (2023)
- Enrolment in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 16.21 million (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, one year before the official primary entry in Nigeria?
- School age population, one year before the official primary entry in Nigeria was 3.25 million in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, one year before the official primary entry recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 3.28 million in 2021.
- What is the lowest school age population, one year before the official primary entry recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 790,764 in 1970.
- How does Nigeria rank for school age population, one year before the official primary entry?
- Nigeria ranks 3rd out of 222 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school age population, one year before the official primary entry rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.3%. 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, published as part of School age population, one year before the official primary entry age, male (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
February 2026 Data Release