Economy · Life expectancy at birth · Nigeria
Nigeria’s life expectancy at birth rose to 54.6 years in 2024.
54.6 years
2024
Up 0.17 years from 2023.
Updated 8 Oct 2026
In plain words
54.6 years
What it is. Life expectancy at birth is the average number of years a newborn would live if the death rates seen at every age in a given year stayed the same for their whole life. It compresses mortality at all ages into one figure, and deaths in infancy and childhood pull it down most strongly. It describes a single year's mortality conditions. It gives no information on how healthy those years are or how outcomes differ between regions and income groups.
Higher is better. More years of expected life mean that fewer people are dying at each age, so a higher figure is better. Nigeria's latest figure is 54.6 years for 2024, up from 54.5 years a year earlier. Since 2015 the range runs from a low of 51.9 years in 2015 to a high of 54.6 years in 2024. The current figure is therefore the highest in that span.
Why it matters. A child born in Nigeria in 2024 can expect to live 54.6 years if current mortality patterns hold. For households, that sets the horizon for earning, saving and supporting dependants. For employers, it bears on how long people stay in the workforce. For the state, the level points to the continuing demand on health services, particularly for children and young adults.
| Period | Life expectancy at birth · Nigeria |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 51.9 years |
| 2016 | 52.2 years |
| 2017 | 52.4 years |
| 2018 | 52.7 years |
| 2019 | 53 years |
| 2020 | 53.1 years |
| 2021 | 53.5 years |
| 2022 | 54.1 years |
| 2023 | 54.5 years |
| 2024 | 54.6 years |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0) · Licence: CC BY 4.0
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Every change is logged in Corrections. How the figure is made: Methodology.
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Strata-AF™ Data, Life expectancy at birth, Nigeria, 2024; source World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0), retrieved 8 Oct 2026; https://data.strata-af.com/economy/life-expectancy/nigeria
Data insights · Worked out from the published figures
What this means
Working this out from the published figures…
Strata AI commentary is coming — reviewed, dated, and generated only from the figures on this page.
Methodology
Life expectancy at birth, total. Unit: years.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (series SP.DYN.LE00.IN), retrieved through the World Bank API and published under CC BY 4.0. Updated annually; the World Bank's own source notes apply.