Self-reported life satisfaction in Nigeria
Nigeria: Self-reported life satisfaction was 4.79 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Self-reported life satisfaction in Nigeria, 2011–2025
Source: Wellbeing Research Centre (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Nigeria recorded 4.79 for self-reported life satisfaction in 2025.
That represents a change of down 2.0% on the previous year and down 1.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, self-reported life satisfaction in Nigeria peaked at 5.27 in 2014 and was at its lowest, 4.55, in 2021.
Nigeria ranks 108th of 157 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 14 years of available data.
Self-reported life satisfaction in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 4.86 | — |
| 2012 | 5.25 | +8.1% |
| 2014 | 5.27 | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 4.88 | -7.5% |
| 2016 | 5.07 | +4.1% |
| 2017 | 5.16 | +1.6% |
| 2018 | 5.26 | +2.1% |
| 2019 | 4.72 | -10.3% |
| 2020 | 4.76 | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 4.55 | -4.3% |
| 2022 | 4.98 | +9.4% |
| 2023 | 4.88 | -2.0% |
| 2024 | 4.88 | +0.1% |
| 2025 | 4.79 | -2.0% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 4.79 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 4.63, 1.0× the median. (40 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 4.79 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.38, 1.1× the median. (42 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5.06 | 4.72 | 5.27 | 8 |
| 2020s | 4.81 | 4.55 | 4.98 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More social development data for Nigeria
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 123,848 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 478,150 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 4 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 4 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.002 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 478,150 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0005 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is self-reported life satisfaction in Nigeria?
- Self-reported life satisfaction in Nigeria was 4.79 in 2025, according to Wellbeing Research Centre (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest self-reported life satisfaction recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 5.27 in 2014.
- What is the lowest self-reported life satisfaction recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.55 in 2021.
- How does Nigeria rank for self-reported life satisfaction?
- Nigeria ranks 108th out of 157 countries with data for 2025.
- Is self-reported life satisfaction rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nigeria data come from?
- The figures come from Wellbeing Research Centre (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Self-reported life satisfaction. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Average of survey responses. The survey question asks respondents their current position on a hypothetical ladder, where the best possible life for them is a 10, and the worst possible life is a 0.