Years of schooling in Nigeria
Nigeria: Years of schooling was 7.59 in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
7.59
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
131st
of 192 countries
All-time high
7.59
in 2021
All-time low
2.75
in 1990
Years of data
34
1990–2023
Years of schooling in Nigeria, 1990–2023
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2023, years of schooling in Nigeria stood at 7.59. 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, years of schooling in Nigeria peaked at 7.59 in 2021 and was at its lowest, 2.75, 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.
Years of schooling in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 2.75 | — |
| 1991 | 2.93 | +6.4% |
| 1992 | 3.1 | +6.0% |
| 1993 | 3.28 | +5.7% |
| 1994 | 3.46 | +5.4% |
| 1995 | 3.63 | +5.1% |
| 1996 | 3.81 | +4.9% |
| 1997 | 3.99 | +4.6% |
| 1998 | 4.16 | +4.4% |
| 1999 | 4.34 | +4.2% |
| 2000 | 4.51 | +4.1% |
| 2001 | 4.69 | +3.9% |
| 2002 | 4.87 | +3.8% |
| 2003 | 5.04 | +3.6% |
| 2004 | 5.27 | +4.4% |
| 2005 | 5.49 | +4.2% |
| 2006 | 5.71 | +4.1% |
| 2007 | 5.93 | +3.9% |
| 2008 | 6.16 | +3.8% |
| 2009 | 6.19 | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 6.23 | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 6.27 | +0.6% |
| 2012 | 6.31 | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 6.35 | +0.6% |
| 2014 | 6.56 | +3.4% |
| 2015 | 6.78 | +3.3% |
| 2016 | 7 | +3.2% |
| 2017 | 6.96 | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 6.92 | -0.5% |
| 2019 | 7.19 | +3.9% |
| 2020 | 7.39 | +2.7% |
| 2021 | 7.59 | +2.7% |
| 2022 | 7.59 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 7.59 | +0.0% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 7.59 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 6.79, 1.1× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 7.59 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 5.96, 1.3× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3.54 | 2.75 | 4.34 | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.39 | 4.51 | 6.19 | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.66 | 6.23 | 7.19 | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.54 | 7.39 | 7.59 | 4 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More education data for Nigeria
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 74.51 (2023)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 75.68 (2023)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is years of schooling in Nigeria?
- Years of schooling in Nigeria was 7.59 in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest years of schooling recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 7.59 in 2021.
- What is the lowest years of schooling recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.75 in 1990.
- How does Nigeria rank for years of schooling?
- Nigeria ranks 131st out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is years of schooling 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 Our World in Data, published as part of Years of schooling. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).