School age population, early childhood educational development in Nigeria

Nigeria: School age population, early childhood educational development was 26.01 million number in 2019. ▲ Rising

Latest (2019)
26.01 million number
Change on year
up 1.7%
World rank
1st
of 92 countries
All-time high
26.01 million number
in 2019
All-time low
15.64 million number
in 1999
Years of data
21
1999–2019

School age population, early childhood educational development in Nigeria, 1999–2019

010.0M20.0M30.0M1999200920191999: 15.6M number2000: 16.0M number2001: 16.4M number2002: 17.0M number2003: 17.5M number2004: 18.0M number2005: 18.5M number2006: 19.0M number2007: 19.6M number2008: 20.2M number2009: 20.7M number2010: 21.2M number2011: 21.8M number2012: 22.3M number2013: 22.9M number2014: 23.4M number2015: 24.0M number2016: 24.5M number2017: 25.1M number2018: 25.6M number2019: 26.0M number

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in number.

Analysis

Nigeria recorded 26.01 million number for school age population, early childhood educational development in 2019. That is the highest value across all 21 years on record.

That represents a change of up 1.7% on the previous year and up 25.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, school age population, early childhood educational development in Nigeria peaked at 26.01 million number in 2019 and was at its lowest, 15.64 million number, in 1999.

That places Nigeria 1st out of 92 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 21 years of available data.

School age population, early childhood educational development in Nigeria, year by year

Annual values for School age population, early childhood educational development programmes, both sexes (number) in Nigeria, 1999 to 2019.
Year number Change
1999 15.64 million number
2000 16.00 million number +2.4%
2001 16.43 million number +2.6%
2002 16.99 million number +3.4%
2003 17.49 million number +3.0%
2004 17.97 million number +2.7%
2005 18.46 million number +2.7%
2006 18.99 million number +2.9%
2007 19.63 million number +3.4%
2008 20.19 million number +2.8%
2009 20.70 million number +2.5%
2010 21.21 million number +2.5%
2011 21.75 million number +2.6%
2012 22.32 million number +2.6%
2013 22.88 million number +2.5%
2014 23.42 million number +2.4%
2015 23.96 million number +2.3%
2016 24.48 million number +2.2%
2017 25.08 million number +2.5%
2018 25.58 million number +2.0%
2019 26.01 million number +1.7%

Nigeria compared with similar countries

  • Nigeria's 26.01 million number is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 780,335 number, 33.3× the median. (18 countries reporting)
  • Nigeria's 26.01 million number is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 475,986 number, 54.6× the median. (14 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 15.64 million number 15.64 million number 15.64 million number 1
2000s 18.29 million number 16.00 million number 20.70 million number 10
2010s 23.67 million number 21.21 million number 26.01 million number 10

Countries ranked near Nigeria

  1. 2 Indonesia 19.60 million number compare
  2. 3 Pakistan 9.99 million number compare
  3. 4 Mexico 6.63 million number compare

See the full ranking of 131 places →

More reference data data for Nigeria

All data for Nigeria →

Frequently asked questions

What is school age population, early childhood educational development in Nigeria?
School age population, early childhood educational development in Nigeria was 26.01 million number in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest school age population, early childhood educational development recorded in Nigeria?
The highest recorded value was 26.01 million number in 2019.
What is the lowest school age population, early childhood educational development recorded in Nigeria?
The lowest recorded value was 15.64 million number in 1999.
How does Nigeria rank for school age population, early childhood educational development?
Nigeria ranks 1st out of 92 countries with data for 2019.
Is school age population, early childhood educational development rising or falling in Nigeria?
Over the last ten years it is up 25.6%. 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 age population, early childhood educational development programmes, both sexes (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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School age population, early childhood educational development in Nigeria. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 24 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/school-age-population-early-childhood-educational-development-programmes-both-sexes-number/nigeria/

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About this data

Indicator
School age population, early childhood educational development programmes, both sexes (number)
Unit
number
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
131 places, 2,087 data points, 1972–2020
Last refreshed

Population of the age-group theoretically corresponding to early childhood educational development as indicated by theoretical entrance age and duration. Early childhood educational development programmes are targeted at children aged 0 to 2 years, and pre-primary education programmes are targeted at children aged 3 years until the age to start ISCED 1. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute of Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/