School life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Nigeria
Nigeria: School life expectancy, primary, both sexes was 5.41 years in 2023. β² Rising
School life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Nigeria, 1970β2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Nigeria is 5.41 years, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of up 7.5% on the previous year and up 0.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Nigeria peaked at 6.64 years in 1982 and was at its lowest, 1.53 years, in 2015.
That places Nigeria 141st out of 215 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 47 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 3.47 years | 2.51 years | 5.36 years | 8 |
| 1980s | 5.79 years | 4.79 years | 6.64 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.21 years | 4.61 years | 5.74 years | 8 |
| 2000s | 5.63 years | 4.84 years | 6.14 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.61 years | 1.53 years | 5.37 years | 8 |
| 2020s | 5.17 years | 5.03 years | 5.41 years | 3 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More education data for Nigeria
- Duration of pre primary education 1 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 5 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 56.4% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 40.5% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 89.6% (2023)
- Primary education, teachers 913,305 (2021)
- Fertility rate vs mean years of schooling 4.38 (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 88.2% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Nigeria?
- School life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Nigeria was 5.41 years in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary, both sexes recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 6.64 years in 1982.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary, both sexes recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.53 years in 2015.
- How does Nigeria rank for school life expectancy, primary, both sexes?
- Nigeria ranks 141st out of 215 countries with data for 2023.
- Is school life expectancy, primary, both sexes rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.7%. 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 life expectancy, primary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV Β· JSON β 47 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release