There are 170 universities in Nigeria. As of 2021, 79 were private, federal universities amounted to 43, while state universities were 48. Some of Nigeria's oldest universities are the University of Ibadan, the University of Nigeria, the Obafemi Awolowo University, and the University of Lagos. These four institutions were founded between the end of the 1940s and the beginning of the 1960s.
Nigeria’s biggest institutes
The National Open University of Nigeria is the largest university in Nigeria by number of students. In 2019, the number of all students enrolled reached 565 thousand. The National Open University of Nigeria is the largest open and distance learning institute on the whole African continent. It is based in Abuja but has several campuses across Nigeria.
What Nigerians study the most
There are over 1.8 million full-time undergraduate university students in Nigeria. Sciences and social sciences are the most common disciplines chosen by Nigerian students. Administration and management followed as the third most popular faculty. Among master and diploma students, however, administration and management have the largest number of students.
Number of universities in Nigeria as of 2021, by ownership
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Federal Ministry of Education. (September 20, 2021). Number of universities in Nigeria as of 2021, by ownership [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved May 22, 2022, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1130701/number-of-universities-in-nigeria/
Federal Ministry of Education. "Number of universities in Nigeria as of 2021, by ownership." Chart. September 20, 2021. Statista. Accessed May 22, 2022. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1130701/number-of-universities-in-nigeria/
Federal Ministry of Education. (2021). Number of universities in Nigeria as of 2021, by ownership. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: May 22, 2022. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1130701/number-of-universities-in-nigeria/
Federal Ministry of Education. "Number of Universities in Nigeria as of 2021, by Ownership." Statista, Statista Inc., 20 Sep 2021, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1130701/number-of-universities-in-nigeria/
Federal Ministry of Education, Number of universities in Nigeria as of 2021, by ownership Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1130701/number-of-universities-in-nigeria/ (last visited May 22, 2022)