Average years of schooling among adults in Nigeria
Nigeria: Average years of schooling among adults was 7.59 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Average years of schooling among adults in Nigeria, 1990–2023
Source: UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2023, average years of schooling among adults in Nigeria stood at 7.59 years. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
That represents a change of up 19.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, average years of schooling among adults in Nigeria peaked at 7.59 years in 2021 and was at its lowest, 2.75 years, in 1990.
Nigeria ranks 131st of 192 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3.54 years | 2.75 years | 4.34 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.39 years | 4.51 years | 6.19 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.66 years | 6.23 years | 7.19 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.54 years | 7.39 years | 7.59 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More education data for Nigeria
- Duration of pre-primary education 1 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 5 years (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. average years of schooling 4.38 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 88.2% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is average years of schooling among adults in Nigeria?
- Average years of schooling among adults in Nigeria was 7.59 years in 2023, according to UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest average years of schooling among adults recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 7.59 years in 2021.
- What is the lowest average years of schooling among adults recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.75 years in 1990.
- How does Nigeria rank for average years of schooling among adults?
- Nigeria ranks 131st out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is average years of schooling among adults rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 19.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Nigeria data come from?
- The figures come from UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Average years of schooling among adults. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Average number of years (excluding years spent repeating individual grades) adults over 25 years participated in formal education.