Figures checked 1 November 2026
Election 2027: 16 January
DataNigeriaUnderstand Nigeria. Better.

Women aged 15–49 who are literate (%)

57.2% Nigeria, 2024

Up 4.1 points from 53.1% in 2018.

Survey estimateEach survey round

Source: The DHS Program (ICF), with the National Population Commission · Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (DHS Program API) · ED_LITR_W_LIT · version 3, published 2 Nov 2026 · DHS-TERMS, no commercial reuse without permission

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By state

2024 · darker means higher
Abia: 93.5%Adamawa: 51.5%Akwa Ibom: 86.8%Anambra: 91.7%Bauchi: 36.9%Benue: 63.0%Borno: 43.8%Bayelsa: 82.6%Cross River: 81.6%Delta: 83.3%Ebonyi: 60.9%Edo: 88.4%Ekiti: 79.4%Enugu: 81.7%FCT, Abuja: 87.7%Gombe: 42.9%Imo: 87.0%Jigawa: 23.9%Kaduna: 53.1%Kebbi: 10.7%Kano: 61.3%Kogi: 56.9%Katsina: 37.2%Kwara: 57.7%Lagos: 90.3%Nasarawa: 55.1%Niger: 22.5%Ogun: 83.4%Ondo: 74.5%Osun: 91.2%Oyo: 82.5%Plateau: 61.2%Rivers: 83.5%Sokoto: 16.4%Taraba: 34.5%Yobe: 22.2%Zamfara: 25.0%
10.7%–36.9%36.9%–56.9%56.9%–81.6%81.6%–86.8%86.8%–93.5%
  1. 1Abia93.5%
  2. 2Anambra91.7%
  3. 3Osun91.2%
  4. 4Lagos90.3%
  5. 5Edo88.4%
  6. 6FCT, Abuja87.7%
  7. 7Imo87.0%
  8. 8Akwa Ibom86.8%
  9. 9Rivers83.5%
  10. 10Ogun83.4%
  11. 11Delta83.3%
  12. 12Bayelsa82.6%
  13. 13Oyo82.5%
  14. 14Enugu81.7%
  15. 15Cross River81.6%
  16. 16Ekiti79.4%
  17. 17Ondo74.5%
  18. 18Benue63.0%
  19. 19Kano61.3%
  20. 20Plateau61.2%
  21. 21Ebonyi60.9%
  22. 22Kwara57.7%
  23. 23Kogi56.9%
  24. 24Nasarawa55.1%
  25. 25Kaduna53.1%
  26. 26Adamawa51.5%
  27. 27Borno43.8%
  28. 28Gombe42.9%
  29. 29Katsina37.2%
  30. 30Bauchi36.9%
  31. 31Taraba34.5%
  32. 32Zamfara25.0%
  33. 33Jigawa23.9%
  34. 34Niger22.5%
  35. 35Yobe22.2%
  36. 36Sokoto16.4%
  37. 37Kebbi10.7%

Black line: Nigeria overall, 57.2%.

Who is behind the national figure

2024 · black line: Nigeria overall
Urban or rural
Urban
78.8%
Rural
37.0%
Wealth group
Poorest fifth
11.6%
Second fifth
28.6%
Middle fifth
58.0%
Fourth fifth
79.6%
Richest fifth
94.0%

Source: The DHS Program (ICF), with the National Population Commission, Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (DHS Program API) (NG2024DHS), version 3. Survey estimates have margins of error; groups whose bars are close may not differ. Download breakdowns (CSV)

How we know

Definition
Share of women aged 15 to 49 who can read all or part of a sentence, or attended secondary school or higher.
Type of figure
Survey estimate. Estimated from a household survey, so it has a margin of error. Where the survey publishes one, the 95% confidence interval is shown.
Updated
Each survey round
Source
The DHS Program (ICF), with the National Population Commission, Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (DHS Program API) (DHS:ED_LITR_W_LIT)
Licence
DHS-TERMS
Version
Dataset dhs-nigeria-states, version 3, published 2 November 2026
Cite this
The DHS Program (ICF), with the National Population Commission, Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (DHS Program API), indicator DHS:ED_LITR_W_LIT. Retrieved via DataNigeria (dataset dhs-nigeria-states, version 3, published 2 November 2026). Licence: DHS-TERMS.

Download CSVView as JSON

All years

YearValue
202457.2%
201853.1%
201353.1%
200853.7%
200348.2%