Share of children who have completed primary school in Nigeria
Nigeria: Share of children who have completed primary school was 76.8% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of children who have completed primary school in Nigeria, 1981–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, share of children who have completed primary school in Nigeria stood at 76.8%. That is the highest value across all 45 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and up 4.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who have completed primary school in Nigeria peaked at 76.8% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 60.6%, in 1981.
That places Nigeria 131st out of 165 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Share of children who have completed primary school in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 60.6% | — |
| 1982 | 61.0% | +0.6% |
| 1983 | 61.3% | +0.6% |
| 1984 | 61.7% | +0.6% |
| 1985 | 62.1% | +0.6% |
| 1986 | 62.4% | +0.6% |
| 1987 | 62.8% | +0.6% |
| 1988 | 63.2% | +0.7% |
| 1989 | 63.5% | +0.5% |
| 1990 | 63.8% | +0.5% |
| 1991 | 64.2% | +0.5% |
| 1992 | 64.5% | +0.6% |
| 1993 | 65.0% | +0.7% |
| 1994 | 65.5% | +0.9% |
| 1995 | 66.2% | +0.9% |
| 1996 | 67.0% | +1.2% |
| 1997 | 67.8% | +1.3% |
| 1998 | 68.7% | +1.3% |
| 1999 | 69.5% | +1.2% |
| 2000 | 70.3% | +1.1% |
| 2001 | 70.9% | +0.9% |
| 2002 | 71.4% | +0.6% |
| 2003 | 71.8% | +0.6% |
| 2004 | 72.1% | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 72.5% | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 72.8% | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 73.1% | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 73.2% | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 73.2% | -0.0% |
| 2010 | 73.1% | -0.1% |
| 2011 | 73.0% | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 73.0% | -0.0% |
| 2013 | 73.1% | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 73.3% | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 73.6% | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 73.9% | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 74.3% | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 74.7% | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 75.0% | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 75.3% | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 75.6% | +0.4% |
| 2022 | 75.9% | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 76.2% | +0.4% |
| 2024 | 76.5% | +0.4% |
| 2025 | 76.8% | +0.4% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 76.8% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 86.1%, 89% of the median. (45 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 76.8% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 72.2%, 1.1× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 62.1% | 60.6% | 63.5% | 9 |
| 1990s | 66.2% | 63.8% | 69.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 72.1% | 70.3% | 73.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 73.7% | 73.0% | 75.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 76.0% | 75.3% | 76.8% | 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 share of children who have completed primary school in Nigeria?
- Share of children who have completed primary school in Nigeria was 76.8% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children who have completed primary school recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 76.8% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of children who have completed primary school recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 60.6% in 1981.
- How does Nigeria rank for share of children who have completed primary school?
- Nigeria ranks 131st out of 165 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of children who have completed primary school rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.3%. 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 (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children who have completed primary school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Share of children who are three to five years older than the official age for the last grade of primary education who have successfully completed it. This broader age band is used to include children who started school late or had to resit particular years.