Statizoid

Lower secondary school starting age in Nigeria

Nigeria: Lower secondary school starting age was 12 years in 2025. ▬ Flat

Latest (2025)
12 years
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
30th
of 209 countries
All-time high
12 years
in 1970
All-time low
12 years
in 1970
Years of data
56
1970–2025

Lower secondary school starting age in Nigeria, 1970–2025

02.557.51012.5197019972025

Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in years.

Analysis

In 2025, lower secondary school starting age in Nigeria stood at 12 years. That is the highest value across all 56 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, lower secondary school starting age in Nigeria peaked at 12 years in 1970 and was at its lowest, 12 years, in 1970.

That places Nigeria 30th out of 209 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 12 years 12 years 12 years 10
1980s 12 years 12 years 12 years 10
1990s 12 years 12 years 12 years 10
2000s 12 years 12 years 12 years 10
2010s 12 years 12 years 12 years 10
2020s 12 years 12 years 12 years 6

Countries ranked near Nigeria

  1. 30 American Samoa 12 years compare
  2. 30 Andorra 12 years compare
  3. 30 Angola 12 years compare
  4. 30 Antigua and Barbuda 12 years compare
  5. 30 Argentina 12 years compare
  6. 30 Aruba 12 years compare
  7. 30 Australia 12 years compare
  8. 30 Bahrain 12 years compare
  9. 30 Belgium 12 years compare
  10. 30 Benin 12 years compare
  11. 30 Bhutan 12 years compare
  12. 30 Bolivia 12 years compare
  13. 30 British Virgin Islands 12 years compare
  14. 30 Brunei 12 years compare
  15. 30 Burkina Faso 12 years compare
  16. 30 Burundi 12 years compare
  17. 30 Cape Verde 12 years compare
  18. 30 Cambodia 12 years compare
  19. 30 Cameroon 12 years compare
  20. 30 Canada 12 years compare
  21. 30 Central African Republic 12 years compare
  22. 30 Chad 12 years compare
  23. 30 Chile 12 years compare
  24. 30 China 12 years compare
  25. 30 Democratic Republic of Congo 12 years compare
  26. 30 Congo 12 years compare
  27. 30 Costa Rica 12 years compare
  28. 30 Cote d'Ivoire 12 years compare
  29. 30 Cuba 12 years compare
  30. 30 Curacao 12 years compare
  31. 30 Cyprus 12 years compare
  32. 30 Dominica 12 years compare
  33. 30 Dominican Republic 12 years compare
  34. 30 Ecuador 12 years compare
  35. 30 Egypt 12 years compare
  36. 30 Fiji 12 years compare
  37. 30 Georgia 12 years compare
  38. 30 Ghana 12 years compare
  39. 30 Greece 12 years compare
  40. 30 Grenada 12 years compare
  41. 30 Guinea-Bissau 12 years compare
  42. 30 Guyana 12 years compare
  43. 30 Haiti 12 years compare
  44. 30 Honduras 12 years compare
  45. 30 Hong Kong 12 years compare
  46. 30 Iran 12 years compare
  47. 30 Iraq 12 years compare
  48. 30 Israel 12 years compare
  49. 30 Jamaica 12 years compare
  50. 30 Japan 12 years compare
  51. 30 Jordan 12 years compare
  52. 30 Kenya 12 years compare
  53. 30 Kiribati 12 years compare
  54. 30 North Korea 12 years compare
  55. 30 South Korea 12 years compare
  56. 30 Lebanon 12 years compare
  57. 30 Liberia 12 years compare
  58. 30 Libya 12 years compare
  59. 30 Liechtenstein 12 years compare
  60. 30 Luxembourg 12 years compare
  61. 30 Macao 12 years compare
  62. 30 Malawi 12 years compare
  63. 30 Malaysia 12 years compare
  64. 30 Maldives 12 years compare
  65. 30 Marshall Islands 12 years compare
  66. 30 Mauritania 12 years compare
  67. 30 Mexico 12 years compare
  68. 30 Micronesia (country) 12 years compare
  69. 30 Morocco 12 years compare
  70. 30 Nauru 12 years compare
  71. 30 Netherlands 12 years compare
  72. 30 Nicaragua 12 years compare
  73. 30 Palau 12 years compare
  74. 30 Panama 12 years compare
  75. 30 Paraguay 12 years compare
  76. 30 Peru 12 years compare
  77. 30 Philippines 12 years compare
  78. 30 Portugal 12 years compare
  79. 30 Puerto Rico 12 years compare
  80. 30 Qatar 12 years compare
  81. 30 Rwanda 12 years compare
  82. 30 Sao Tome and Principe 12 years compare
  83. 30 Saudi Arabia 12 years compare
  84. 30 Senegal 12 years compare
  85. 30 Seychelles 12 years compare
  86. 30 Sierra Leone 12 years compare
  87. 30 Singapore 12 years compare
  88. 30 Sint Maarten (Dutch part) 12 years compare
  89. 30 Slovenia 12 years compare
  90. 30 Solomon Islands 12 years compare
  91. 30 South Sudan 12 years compare
  92. 30 Spain 12 years compare
  93. 30 Saint Kitts and Nevis 12 years compare
  94. 30 Saint Lucia 12 years compare
  95. 30 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 12 years compare
  96. 30 Sudan 12 years compare
  97. 30 Suriname 12 years compare
  98. 30 Switzerland 12 years compare
  99. 30 Syria 12 years compare
  100. 30 Thailand 12 years compare
  101. 30 East Timor 12 years compare
  102. 30 Togo 12 years compare
  103. 30 Tonga 12 years compare
  104. 30 Trinidad and Tobago 12 years compare
  105. 30 Tunisia 12 years compare
  106. 30 Turks and Caicos Islands 12 years compare
  107. 30 Tuvalu 12 years compare
  108. 30 United States 12 years compare
  109. 30 Uruguay 12 years compare
  110. 30 Vanuatu 12 years compare
  111. 30 Venezuela 12 years compare
  112. 30 United States Virgin Islands 12 years compare
  113. 30 Yemen 12 years compare

See the full ranking of 209 places →

More education data for Nigeria

All data for Nigeria →

Frequently asked questions

What is lower secondary school starting age in Nigeria?
Lower secondary school starting age in Nigeria was 12 years in 2025, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
What is the highest lower secondary school starting age recorded in Nigeria?
The highest recorded value was 12 years in 1970.
What is the lowest lower secondary school starting age recorded in Nigeria?
The lowest recorded value was 12 years in 1970.
How does Nigeria rank for lower secondary school starting age?
Nigeria ranks 30th out of 209 countries with data for 2025.
Is lower secondary school starting age rising or falling in Nigeria?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this Nigeria data come from?
The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Lower secondary school starting age (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

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About this data

Indicator
Lower secondary school starting age (years)
Unit
years
Source
Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
209 places, 11,411 data points, 1970–2025
Last refreshed

Lower secondary school starting age is the age at which students would enter lower secondary education, assuming they had started at the official entrance age for the lowest level of education, had studied full-time throughout and had progressed through the system without repeating or skipping a grade.