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Nigeria — Labor participation
Labor Force Participation Rate for Nigeria, 1990–2025.
Latest value · 2025
82.52%
Labor Force Participation Rate · % of population ages 15+ · +0.9% since 1990
Labor participation for Nigeria was 82.52% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 36 years, from 1990 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 84.09% in 1995. The lowest was 79.31% in 2020 (about 1.0× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to 0.03% per year.
Nigeria ranks 5 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 3%. The median for Sub-Saharan Africa is 64.31%, so Nigeria sits above it. It peaked in 1995 and has fallen 2% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved up 2%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
82.52%
First (1990)
81.79%
Change
+0.9%
Highest
84.09%
in 1995
Lowest
79.31%
in 2020
Average
82.09%
Annual growth (CAGR)
0.03%
Years of data
36
Recent years
| Year | % of population ages 15+ |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 82.52% |
| 2024 | 82.57% |
| 2023 | 82.56% |
| 2022 | 81.27% |
| 2021 | 80.14% |
| 2020 | 79.31% |
| 2019 | 81% |
| 2018 | 80.96% |
| 2017 | 80.89% |
| 2016 | 80.84% |
| 2015 | 80.79% |
| 2014 | 80.77% |
Reading this correctly. Proportion of the population aged 15 and above that is economically active: supplying labor for the production of goods and services. Figures are in % of population ages 15+. Comparing this series with a different measure of the same concept (for example a nominal figure against a purchasing-power-parity figure) will give misleading results.
Related data
Source. World Bank Open Data, indicator
SL.TLF.CACT.ZS — Labor Force Participation Rate. Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.