Share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts in Nigeria

Nigeria: Share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts was 40.0% in 2018. ▲ Rising

Latest (2018)
40.0%
Change on year
up 8.7%
World rank
52nd
of 96 countries
All-time high
40.0%
in 2018
All-time low
11.7%
in 1990
Years of data
11
1986–2018

Share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts in Nigeria, 1986–2018

102030401986200220181986: 18 % of children under 5 who received ORS packet1987: 20 % of children under 5 who received ORS packet1989: 35 % of children under 5 who received ORS packet1990: 11.7 % of children under 5 who received ORS packet1999: 34.3 % of children under 5 who received ORS packet2003: 18.2 % of children under 5 who received ORS packet2008: 25.5 % of children under 5 who received ORS packet2011: 26 % of children under 5 who received ORS packet2013: 33.7 % of children under 5 who received ORS packet2017: 36.8 % of children under 5 who received ORS packet2018: 40 % of children under 5 who received ORS packet

Source: Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and UNICEF, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of children under 5 who received ORS packet.

Analysis

Nigeria recorded 40.0% for share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts in 2018. That is the highest value across all 11 years on record.

The figure is up 8.7% on the previous year and up 56.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts in Nigeria peaked at 40.0% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 11.7%, in 1990.

Nigeria ranks 52nd of 96 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 11 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 24.3% 18.0% 35.0% 3
1990s 23.0% 11.7% 34.3% 2
2000s 21.9% 18.2% 25.5% 2
2010s 34.1% 26.0% 40.0% 4

Countries ranked near Nigeria

  1. 49 Sao Tome and Principe 41.6% compare
  2. 50 Niger 40.8% compare
  3. 51 Equatorial Guinea 40.4% compare
  4. 52 Bolivia 40.0% compare
  5. 54 Afghanistan 39.9% compare
  6. 55 Lesotho 39.7% compare

See the full ranking of 96 places →

More reference data data for Nigeria

All data for Nigeria →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts in Nigeria?
Share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts in Nigeria was 40.0% in 2018, according to Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and UNICEF, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts recorded in Nigeria?
The highest recorded value was 40.0% in 2018.
What is the lowest share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts recorded in Nigeria?
The lowest recorded value was 11.7% in 1990.
How does Nigeria rank for share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts?
Nigeria ranks 52nd out of 96 countries with data for 2018.
Is share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts rising or falling in Nigeria?
Over the last ten years it is up 56.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Nigeria data come from?
The figures come from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and UNICEF, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 11 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts
Unit
% of children under 5 who received ORS packet
Source
Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and UNICEF, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
96 places, 780 data points, 1985–2021
Last refreshed

The share of children under five years old with diarrhea, in the two weeks prior to the survey, who received oral rehydration salts.