How does Nigeria rank for school age population, one year before than official primary entry?

Nigeria ranks 3rd out of 202 countries with data for 2020.

Is school age population, one year before than official primary entry rising or falling in Nigeria?

Over the last ten years it is up 28.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

School age population, one year before than official primary entry in Nigeria

Name: School age population, one year before than official primary entry in Nigeria
Creator: UNESCO Institute for Statistics
License: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)

Nigeria: School age population, one year before than official primary entry was 3.03 million number in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)

3.03 million number

Change on year

up 2.1%

World rank

3rd

of 202 countries

All-time high

3.03 million number

in 2020

All-time low

808,006 number

in 1970

Years of data

1970–2020

School age population, one year before than official primary entry in Nigeria, 1970–2020

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in number.

Analysis

In 2020, school age population, one year before than official primary entry in Nigeria stood at 3.03 million number. That is the highest value across all 51 years on record.

The figure is up 2.1% on the previous year and up 28.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, school age population, one year before than official primary entry in Nigeria peaked at 3.03 million number in 2020 and was at its lowest, 808,006 number, in 1970.

That places Nigeria 3rd out of 202 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 51 years of available data.

School age population, one year before than official primary entry in Nigeria, year by year

Annual values for School age population, one year before than official primary entry age, female (number) in Nigeria, 1970 to 2020.
Year	number	Change
1970	808,006 number	—
1971	822,213 number	+1.8%
1972	846,088 number	+2.9%
1973	869,005 number	+2.7%
1974	891,395 number	+2.6%
1975	914,139 number	+2.6%
1976	938,108 number	+2.6%
1977	975,459 number	+4.0%
1978	1.02 million number	+4.1%
1979	1.06 million number	+4.0%
1980	1.09 million number	+3.5%
1981	1.12 million number	+2.8%
1982	1.17 million number	+3.8%
1983	1.21 million number	+3.5%
1984	1.25 million number	+3.1%
1985	1.28 million number	+2.7%
1986	1.31 million number	+2.3%
1987	1.35 million number	+3.0%
1988	1.39 million number	+2.7%
1989	1.42 million number	+2.4%
1990	1.45 million number	+2.0%
1991	1.47 million number	+1.6%
1992	1.51 million number	+2.3%
1993	1.54 million number	+2.1%
1994	1.57 million number	+1.8%
1995	1.59 million number	+1.6%
1996	1.62 million number	+1.5%
1997	1.66 million number	+2.4%
1998	1.70 million number	+2.4%
1999	1.73 million number	+2.3%
2000	1.77 million number	+2.2%
2001	1.81 million number	+1.9%
2002	1.86 million number	+3.0%
2003	1.92 million number	+3.1%
2004	1.98 million number	+3.0%
2005	2.03 million number	+2.9%
2006	2.08 million number	+2.6%
2007	2.15 million number	+3.3%
2008	2.23 million number	+3.3%
2009	2.30 million number	+3.2%
2010	2.37 million number	+3.0%
2011	2.43 million number	+2.6%
2012	2.50 million number	+2.9%
2013	2.56 million number	+2.7%
2014	2.63 million number	+2.5%
2015	2.69 million number	+2.4%
2016	2.75 million number	+2.3%
2017	2.83 million number	+2.6%
2018	2.90 million number	+2.5%
2019	2.97 million number	+2.4%
2020	3.03 million number	+2.1%

Nigeria compared with similar countries

Nigeria's 3.03 million number is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 119,305 number, 25.4× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Nigeria's 3.03 million number is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 183,719 number, 16.5× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1970s	913,631 number	808,006 number	1.06 million number	10
1980s	1.26 million number	1.09 million number	1.42 million number	10
1990s	1.58 million number	1.45 million number	1.73 million number	10
2000s	2.01 million number	1.77 million number	2.30 million number	10
2010s	2.66 million number	2.37 million number	2.97 million number	10
2020s	3.03 million number	3.03 million number	3.03 million number	1

Countries ranked near Nigeria

1 India 11.07 million number compare
2 China 8.14 million number compare
4 Pakistan 2.55 million number compare
5 Indonesia 2.38 million number compare
6 United States 1.96 million number compare

See the full ranking of 247 places →

More reference data data for Nigeria

Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.77 (2050)
Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 19.51 (2050)
Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 27 (2050)
Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.62 (2050)
Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 27 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 5.94 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 5.8 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 81.9 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 121.16 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 14.27 (2050)

All data for Nigeria →

Frequently asked questions

What is school age population, one year before than official primary entry in Nigeria?: School age population, one year before than official primary entry in Nigeria was 3.03 million number in 2020, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest school age population, one year before than official primary entry recorded in Nigeria?: The highest recorded value was 3.03 million number in 2020.
What is the lowest school age population, one year before than official primary entry recorded in Nigeria?: The lowest recorded value was 808,006 number in 1970.
How does Nigeria rank for school age population, one year before than official primary entry?: Nigeria ranks 3rd out of 202 countries with data for 2020.
Is school age population, one year before than official primary entry rising or falling in Nigeria?: Over the last ten years it is up 28.2%. 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, one year before than official primary entry age, female (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 51 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

School age population, one year before than official primary entry in Nigeria. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 29 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/school-age-population-one-year-before-than-official-primary-entry-age-female-number/nigeria/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/school-age-population-one-year-before-than-official-primary-entry-age-female-number/nigeria/">School age population, one year before than official primary entry in Nigeria</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: School age population, one year before than official primary entry age, female (number)
Unit: number
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 247 places, 12,237 data points, 1970–2020
Last refreshed: 18 September 2026

Female population of the age-group theoretically corresponding to one year before the official primary entry age as indicated by theoretical entrance age and duration. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute of Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/