School age population, pre-primary education, male (number) (age male) in Nigeria
Nigeria: School age population, pre-primary education, male (number) (age male) was 3.25 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
3.25 million
Change on year
down 0.3%
World rank
9th
of 222 countries
All-time high
5.68 million
in 1998
All-time low
1.86 million
in 1999
Years of data
56
1970–2025
School age population, pre-primary education, male in Nigeria, 1970–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
Nigeria recorded 3.25 million for school age population, pre-primary education, male in 2025.
The figure is down 0.3% on the previous year and up 8.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, pre-primary education, male in Nigeria peaked at 5.68 million in 1998 and was at its lowest, 1.86 million, in 1999.
Nigeria ranks 9th of 222 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 56 years of available data.
School age population, pre-primary education, male (number) (age male) in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 2.51 million | — |
| 1971 | 2.58 million | +3.1% |
| 1972 | 2.67 million | +3.2% |
| 1973 | 2.76 million | +3.3% |
| 1974 | 2.85 million | +3.4% |
| 1975 | 2.95 million | +3.6% |
| 1976 | 3.06 million | +3.7% |
| 1977 | 3.18 million | +4.0% |
| 1978 | 3.32 million | +4.4% |
| 1979 | 3.48 million | +4.7% |
| 1980 | 3.64 million | +4.6% |
| 1981 | 3.79 million | +4.3% |
| 1982 | 3.94 million | +4.0% |
| 1983 | 4.08 million | +3.5% |
| 1984 | 4.17 million | +2.3% |
| 1985 | 4.28 million | +2.5% |
| 1986 | 4.38 million | +2.4% |
| 1987 | 4.49 million | +2.5% |
| 1988 | 4.58 million | +2.1% |
| 1989 | 4.66 million | +1.7% |
| 1990 | 4.72 million | +1.3% |
| 1991 | 4.80 million | +1.5% |
| 1992 | 4.88 million | +1.9% |
| 1993 | 5.00 million | +2.4% |
| 1994 | 5.13 million | +2.6% |
| 1995 | 5.26 million | +2.5% |
| 1996 | 5.39 million | +2.4% |
| 1997 | 5.53 million | +2.6% |
| 1998 | 5.68 million | +2.7% |
| 1999 | 1.86 million | -67.2% |
| 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% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 3.25 million is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 439,614, 7.4× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 3.25 million is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 574,926, 5.7× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where School age population, pre-primary education, male (number) (age male) in Nigeria changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | -67.2% | 5.68 million | 1.86 million |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2.93 million | 2.51 million | 3.48 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 4.20 million | 3.64 million | 4.66 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.83 million | 1.86 million | 5.68 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
- 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 school age population, pre-primary education, male in Nigeria?
- School age population, pre-primary education, male in Nigeria was 3.25 million in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, pre-primary education, male recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 5.68 million in 1998.
- What is the lowest school age population, pre-primary education, male recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.86 million in 1999.
- How does Nigeria rank for school age population, pre-primary education, male?
- Nigeria ranks 9th out of 222 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school age population, pre-primary education, male rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.3%. 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 School age population, pre-primary education, male (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 56 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release