School age population, secondary education, female (number) in Nigeria
Nigeria: School age population, secondary education, female (number) was 16.72 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
16.72 million
Change on year
up 2.4%
World rank
4th
of 220 countries
All-time high
16.72 million
in 2025
All-time low
4.05 million
in 1970
Years of data
56
1970–2025
School age population, secondary education, female in Nigeria, 1970–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
Nigeria recorded 16.72 million for school age population, secondary education, female in 2025. That is the highest value across all 56 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.4% on the previous year and up 34.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, secondary education, female in Nigeria peaked at 16.72 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 4.05 million, in 1970.
Nigeria ranks 4th of 220 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, secondary education, female (number) in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 4.05 million | — |
| 1971 | 4.15 million | +2.5% |
| 1972 | 4.25 million | +2.5% |
| 1973 | 4.36 million | +2.5% |
| 1974 | 4.47 million | +2.6% |
| 1975 | 4.59 million | +2.7% |
| 1976 | 4.72 million | +2.7% |
| 1977 | 4.85 million | +2.7% |
| 1978 | 4.98 million | +2.8% |
| 1979 | 5.12 million | +2.8% |
| 1980 | 5.27 million | +2.9% |
| 1981 | 5.43 million | +3.0% |
| 1982 | 5.59 million | +2.9% |
| 1983 | 5.76 million | +3.1% |
| 1984 | 5.91 million | +2.6% |
| 1985 | 6.11 million | +3.5% |
| 1986 | 5.53 million | -9.5% |
| 1987 | 5.75 million | +3.9% |
| 1988 | 5.98 million | +4.1% |
| 1989 | 6.23 million | +4.1% |
| 1990 | 6.48 million | +4.1% |
| 1991 | 6.75 million | +4.1% |
| 1992 | 7.00 million | +3.7% |
| 1993 | 7.23 million | +3.4% |
| 1994 | 7.45 million | +3.0% |
| 1995 | 7.66 million | +2.8% |
| 1996 | 7.86 million | +2.6% |
| 1997 | 8.03 million | +2.1% |
| 1998 | 8.18 million | +1.9% |
| 1999 | 8.33 million | +1.8% |
| 2000 | 8.47 million | +1.7% |
| 2001 | 8.61 million | +1.7% |
| 2002 | 8.77 million | +1.8% |
| 2003 | 8.94 million | +1.9% |
| 2004 | 9.12 million | +2.1% |
| 2005 | 9.33 million | +2.3% |
| 2006 | 9.56 million | +2.5% |
| 2007 | 9.81 million | +2.6% |
| 2008 | 10.07 million | +2.7% |
| 2009 | 10.35 million | +2.8% |
| 2010 | 10.64 million | +2.8% |
| 2011 | 10.95 million | +2.8% |
| 2012 | 11.28 million | +3.1% |
| 2013 | 11.66 million | +3.3% |
| 2014 | 12.05 million | +3.4% |
| 2015 | 12.46 million | +3.4% |
| 2016 | 12.89 million | +3.5% |
| 2017 | 13.34 million | +3.5% |
| 2018 | 13.80 million | +3.4% |
| 2019 | 14.22 million | +3.1% |
| 2020 | 14.64 million | +2.9% |
| 2021 | 15.07 million | +2.9% |
| 2022 | 15.49 million | +2.8% |
| 2023 | 15.91 million | +2.7% |
| 2024 | 16.32 million | +2.6% |
| 2025 | 16.72 million | +2.4% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 16.72 million is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 804,428, 20.8× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 16.72 million is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.19 million, 14.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 4.55 million | 4.05 million | 5.12 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 5.76 million | 5.27 million | 6.23 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 7.50 million | 6.48 million | 8.33 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 9.30 million | 8.47 million | 10.35 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.33 million | 10.64 million | 14.22 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 15.69 million | 14.64 million | 16.72 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, secondary education, female in Nigeria?
- School age population, secondary education, female in Nigeria was 16.72 million in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, secondary education, female recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 16.72 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest school age population, secondary education, female recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.05 million in 1970.
- How does Nigeria rank for school age population, secondary education, female?
- Nigeria ranks 4th out of 220 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school age population, secondary education, female rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 34.2%. 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, secondary education, female (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
February 2026 Data Release