School age population, primary education, male in Nigeria

Nigeria: School age population, primary education, male was 17.16 million number in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
17.16 million number
Change on year
up 2.6%
World rank
3rd
of 206 countries
All-time high
17.16 million number
in 2020
All-time low
4.33 million number
in 1970
Years of data
51
1970–2020

School age population, primary education, male in Nigeria, 1970–2020

5.0M10.0M15.0M197019952020

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in number.

Analysis

The most recent figure for school age population, primary education, male in Nigeria is 17.16 million number, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 51 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.6% on the previous year and up 33.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, school age population, primary education, male in Nigeria peaked at 17.16 million number in 2020 and was at its lowest, 4.33 million number, in 1970.

That places Nigeria 3rd out of 206 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 51 years of available data.

School age population, primary education, male in Nigeria, year by year

Annual values for School age population, primary education, male (number) in Nigeria, 1970 to 2020.
Year number Change
1970 4.33 million number
1971 4.42 million number +2.1%
1972 4.55 million number +2.8%
1973 4.68 million number +2.8%
1974 4.80 million number +2.7%
1975 4.92 million number +2.5%
1976 5.03 million number +2.3%
1977 5.19 million number +3.0%
1978 5.37 million number +3.5%
1979 5.57 million number +3.7%
1980 5.77 million number +3.6%
1981 5.96 million number +3.3%
1982 6.19 million number +3.9%
1983 6.42 million number +3.8%
1984 6.65 million number +3.6%
1985 6.87 million number +3.3%
1986 7.07 million number +3.0%
1987 7.31 million number +3.3%
1988 7.55 million number +3.3%
1989 7.78 million number +3.1%
1990 8.00 million number +2.7%
1991 8.18 million number +2.3%
1992 8.39 million number +2.6%
1993 8.60 million number +2.5%
1994 8.80 million number +2.3%
1995 8.96 million number +1.9%
1996 9.10 million number +1.5%
1997 9.28 million number +2.0%
1998 9.47 million number +2.1%
1999 9.67 million number +2.1%
2000 9.87 million number +2.0%
2001 10.05 million number +1.8%
2002 10.28 million number +2.3%
2003 10.53 million number +2.5%
2004 10.81 million number +2.6%
2005 11.10 million number +2.7%
2006 11.39 million number +2.6%
2007 11.73 million number +3.0%
2008 12.11 million number +3.2%
2009 12.50 million number +3.3%
2010 12.90 million number +3.2%
2011 13.30 million number +3.1%
2012 13.74 million number +3.3%
2013 14.18 million number +3.2%
2014 14.61 million number +3.0%
2015 15.02 million number +2.8%
2016 15.41 million number +2.6%
2017 15.84 million number +2.8%
2018 16.28 million number +2.8%
2019 16.72 million number +2.7%
2020 17.16 million number +2.6%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 4.89 million number 4.33 million number 5.57 million number 10
1980s 6.76 million number 5.77 million number 7.78 million number 10
1990s 8.85 million number 8.00 million number 9.67 million number 10
2000s 11.04 million number 9.87 million number 12.50 million number 10
2010s 14.80 million number 12.90 million number 16.72 million number 10
2020s 17.16 million number 17.16 million number 17.16 million number 1

Countries ranked near Nigeria

  1. 1 India 63.91 million number compare
  2. 2 China 55.27 million number compare
  3. 4 Indonesia 14.34 million number compare
  4. 5 Pakistan 13.02 million number compare
  5. 6 United States of America 12.59 million number compare

See the full ranking of 251 places →

More education data for Nigeria

All data for Nigeria →

Frequently asked questions

What is school age population, primary education, male in Nigeria?
School age population, primary education, male in Nigeria was 17.16 million number in 2020, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest school age population, primary education, male recorded in Nigeria?
The highest recorded value was 17.16 million number in 2020.
What is the lowest school age population, primary education, male recorded in Nigeria?
The lowest recorded value was 4.33 million number in 1970.
How does Nigeria rank for school age population, primary education, male?
Nigeria ranks 3rd out of 206 countries with data for 2020.
Is school age population, primary education, male rising or falling in Nigeria?
Over the last ten years it is up 33.0%. 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, primary education, male (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 51 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

School age population, primary education, male in Nigeria. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 22 August 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/school-age-population-primary-education-male-number/nigeria/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://education.statizoid.com/stat/school-age-population-primary-education-male-number/nigeria/">School age population, primary education, male in Nigeria</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
School age population, primary education, male (number)
Unit
number
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
251 places, 12,277 data points, 1970–2020
Last refreshed

Male population of the age-group theoretically corresponding to primary education as indicated by theoretical entrance age and duration.