How accurate is claim over 70% of Nigerians are illiterate?

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Sunday Awosoro

Claim: An X user claimed that over 70 per cent of Nigeria’s population is illiterate.

Verdict: False! The most recent data from the Ministry of Education puts the estimated number of non-literate Nigerians at 31 per cent. 

Full Text

Amidst the ongoing feud between Senator Natasha Apoti and Godswill Akpabio, the Senate President, a video emerged on social media, showing a group of women in Kogi state purportedly gathered in an attempt to recall Senator Natasha. 

While tweeting his opinion about the incident, Shehu Sadiq, an X user, said the women in the video were illiterate. Sadiq ascribed the failure of democracy to mass illiteracy and poverty and also claimed that over 70 per cent of Nigerians are illiterate. 

Sadiq’s post generated heated debates among other users. While some argue differently, several others, like @UchennaObi36947, wrote:

“I agree with you, my good friend, but you must know too that exposure is part of education, and 90% of the northern populace are not exposed, and 70% of the 70% of  Nigeria illiterates you mentioned are northerners too.”

@brenokwaraji, another user, said the figure was higher: “90% actually. Some PhD holders are also in this category,” he responded.

DUBAWA conducted this verification to ease the brewing controversy and set the record straight.

Verification

Illiteracy is not just about not being able to read and write. It is often a result of deeper issues like poor access to education, harsh living conditions, and a lack of exposure to reading early on. Poverty makes it worse, and social factors like gender, ethnicity, and class also make things even harder. 

A 2022 estimation released by the Federal Ministry of Education pegs Nigeria’s current illiteracy level at 31 per cent. As of 2025, the media and Federal Government are still using this data because no other recent data is available. 

On the other hand, Nigeria’s literacy rate is 69%, which, according to development aid, is a 17% increase over the last 15 years.

While these data may be too old to show the actual realities in the Nigerian society of today, they remain what is available. 

Data showing literacy and illiteracy rates in Nigeria. Source: Dataphyte.

Conclusion

The claim that over 70% of Nigerians are illiterate is false. The most recent data from the Ministry of Education puts the estimated figure at 31%.