What is life expectancy in Nigeria?

Life expectancy in Nigeria was 54.46 years in 2023, according to Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.

What is the highest life expectancy recorded in Nigeria?

The highest recorded value was 54.46 years in 2023.

What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Nigeria?

The lowest recorded value was 35.53 years in 1950.

How does Nigeria rank for life expectancy?

Nigeria ranks 236th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.

Is life expectancy rising or falling in Nigeria?

Over the last ten years it is up 5.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this Nigeria data come from?

The figures come from Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Life expectancy in Nigeria

Name: Life expectancy in Nigeria
Creator: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Nigeria: Life expectancy was 54.46 years in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)

54.46 years

Change on year

up 0.7%

World rank

236th

of 236 countries

All-time high

54.46 years

in 2023

All-time low

35.53 years

in 1950

Years of data

1950–2023

Life expectancy in Nigeria, 1950–2023

Source: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.

Analysis

In 2023, life expectancy in Nigeria stood at 54.46 years. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.

The figure is up 0.7% on the previous year and up 5.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, life expectancy in Nigeria peaked at 54.46 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 35.53 years, in 1950.

That places Nigeria 236th out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1950s	36.27 years	35.53 years	37.03 years	10
1960s	37.97 years	37.21 years	38.95 years	10
1970s	42.94 years	40.01 years	45.74 years	10
1980s	46.12 years	45.83 years	46.44 years	10
1990s	45.88 years	45.48 years	46.61 years	10
2000s	49.21 years	47.14 years	51.08 years	10
2010s	52.05 years	51.31 years	53.01 years	10
2020s	53.77 years	53.07 years	54.46 years	4

Countries ranked near Nigeria

233 Central African Republic 57.41 years compare
234 Lesotho 57.37 years compare
235 Chad 55.07 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More health data for Nigeria

Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,301 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
Number of infants who die before age 1 257,921 deaths (2100)
Deaths in armed conflicts based on where they occurred 726 deaths (2026)
Deaths in armed conflicts by region 726 deaths (2026)
Age population, age 25, male, interpolated 2.03 million (2025)
Age population, age 25, female, interpolated 1.96 million (2025)
Age population, age 24, male, interpolated 2.13 million (2025)
Age population, age 24, female, interpolated 2.06 million (2025)
Age population, age 23, male, interpolated 2.23 million (2025)
Age population, age 23, female, interpolated 2.15 million (2025)

All data for Nigeria →

Frequently asked questions

What is life expectancy in Nigeria?: Life expectancy in Nigeria was 54.46 years in 2023, according to Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest life expectancy recorded in Nigeria?: The highest recorded value was 54.46 years in 2023.
What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Nigeria?: The lowest recorded value was 35.53 years in 1950.
How does Nigeria rank for life expectancy?: Nigeria ranks 236th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is life expectancy rising or falling in Nigeria?: Over the last ten years it is up 5.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Nigeria data come from?: The figures come from Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator: Life expectancy
Unit: years
Source: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 236 places, 19,452 data points, 1543–2023
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Period life expectancy is the number of years the average person born in a certain year would live if they experienced the same chances of dying at each age as people did that year.