Most Nigerian schools lacked basic water, sanitation or hygiene services in the latest available estimates. An estimated 64.4% lacked basic water services, 57.1% lacked basic sanitation and 76.4% lacked basic hygiene. The latest water and hygiene estimates are unchanged from the 2012 estimates, while the sanitation estimate has risen from 17.7% in 2012 to 42.9% in 2023.
Access also varied sharply by location. Only 29.9% of rural schools had basic water services, compared with 47.9% of urban schools. The gap was even wider for sanitation, at 33.1% in rural schools versus 63.5% in urban schools, showing that national coverage figures conceal a substantial rural disadvantage.
