How does Nigeria rank for school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes?

Nigeria ranks 178th out of 188 countries with data for 2016.

Is school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes rising or falling in Nigeria?

Over the last ten years it is down 14.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.

School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in Nigeria

Name: School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in Nigeria
Creator: UNESCO Institute for Statistics
License: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)

Nigeria: School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes was 6.54 years in 2016. ▬ Flat

Latest (2016)

6.54 years

Change on year

down 7.3%

World rank

178th

of 188 countries

All-time high

7.62 years

in 2006

All-time low

6.3 years

in 2008

Years of data

1999–2016

School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in Nigeria, 1999–2016

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.

Analysis

In 2016, school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in Nigeria stood at 6.54 years.

That represents a change of down 7.3% on the previous year and down 14.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in Nigeria peaked at 7.62 years in 2006 and was at its lowest, 6.3 years, in 2008.

Nigeria ranks 178th of 188 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1990s	6.68 years	6.68 years	6.68 years	1
2000s	6.97 years	6.3 years	7.62 years	9
2010s	6.88 years	6.54 years	7.32 years	6

Countries ranked near Nigeria

175 Bahamas 6.96 years compare
177 Pakistan 6.56 years compare
179 Marshall Islands 6.52 years compare
180 Syria 6.47 years compare
181 Chad 6.4 years compare

See the full ranking of 233 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 life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in Nigeria?: School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in Nigeria was 6.54 years in 2016, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes recorded in Nigeria?: The highest recorded value was 7.62 years in 2006.
What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes recorded in Nigeria?: The lowest recorded value was 6.3 years in 2008.
How does Nigeria rank for school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes?: Nigeria ranks 178th out of 188 countries with data for 2016.
Is school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes rising or falling in Nigeria?: Over the last ten years it is down 14.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this Nigeria data come from?: The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

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About this data

Indicator: School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes (years)
Unit: years
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 233 places, 4,584 data points, 1981–2020
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Number of years a person of school entrance age can expect to spend within the specified levels of education. For a child of a certain age a, the school life expectancy is calculated as the sum of the age specific enrolment rates for the levels of education specified. The part of the enrolment that is not distributed by age is divided by the school-age population for the level of education they are enrolled in, and multiplied by the duration of that level of education. The result is then added to the sum of the age-specific enrolment rates. A relatively high SLE indicates greater probability for children to spend more years in education and higher overall retention within the education system. It must be noted that the expected number of years does not necessarily coincide with the expected number of grades of education completed, because of repetition. Since school life expectancy is an average based on participation in different levels of education, the expected number of years of schooling may be pulled down by the magnitude of children who never go to school. Those children who are in school may benefit from many more years of education than the average.