Self-employed, male (% of male employment) in Nigeria
Nigeria: Self-employed, male (% of male employment) was 83.0% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Self-employed, male (% of male employment) in Nigeria, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
In 2025, self-employed, male (% of male employment) in Nigeria stood at 83.0%. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.3% on the previous year and down 1.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, self-employed, male (% of male employment) in Nigeria peaked at 93.8% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 83.0%, in 2025.
Nigeria ranks 4th of 187 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Self-employed, male (% of male employment) in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 93.8% | — |
| 1992 | 93.4% | -0.4% |
| 1993 | 93.2% | -0.2% |
| 1994 | 93.1% | -0.2% |
| 1995 | 92.9% | -0.2% |
| 1996 | 92.7% | -0.2% |
| 1997 | 92.5% | -0.2% |
| 1998 | 92.4% | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 92.2% | -0.2% |
| 2000 | 91.9% | -0.3% |
| 2001 | 91.5% | -0.4% |
| 2002 | 91.0% | -0.6% |
| 2003 | 90.4% | -0.7% |
| 2004 | 89.7% | -0.7% |
| 2005 | 89.1% | -0.7% |
| 2006 | 88.5% | -0.6% |
| 2007 | 88.0% | -0.6% |
| 2008 | 87.4% | -0.6% |
| 2009 | 86.9% | -0.6% |
| 2010 | 86.3% | -0.7% |
| 2011 | 85.9% | -0.6% |
| 2012 | 85.4% | -0.5% |
| 2013 | 85.0% | -0.5% |
| 2014 | 84.7% | -0.5% |
| 2015 | 84.4% | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 84.2% | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 83.9% | -0.3% |
| 2018 | 83.8% | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 83.6% | -0.2% |
| 2020 | 84.7% | +1.4% |
| 2021 | 84.2% | -0.6% |
| 2022 | 83.9% | -0.4% |
| 2023 | 83.6% | -0.4% |
| 2024 | 83.3% | -0.3% |
| 2025 | 83.0% | -0.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 92.9% | 92.2% | 93.8% | 9 |
| 2000s | 89.4% | 86.9% | 91.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 84.7% | 83.6% | 86.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 83.8% | 83.0% | 84.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
- 1 Chad 88.1% compare
- 2 Madagascar 86.1% compare
- 3 Niger 84.6% compare
- 5 Sierra Leone 83.0% compare
- 6 Afghanistan 82.8% compare
- 7 Central African Republic 82.7% compare
More work & labour data for Nigeria
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual 0.0306 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth 0.0025 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth 0.0591 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate 0.3624 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 2.71 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 287,130 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 123,508 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 237,227 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 239,521 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 476,748 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is self-employed, male (% of male employment) in Nigeria?
- Self-employed, male (% of male employment) in Nigeria was 83.0% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest self-employed, male (% of male employment) recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 93.8% in 1991.
- What is the lowest self-employed, male (% of male employment) recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 83.0% in 2025.
- How does Nigeria rank for self-employed, male (% of male employment)?
- Nigeria ranks 4th out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is self-employed, male (% of male employment) rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nigeria data come from?
- The figures come from ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Self-employed, male (% of male employment) (modeled ILO estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Self-employed workers are those workers who, working on their own account or with one or a few partners or in cooperative, hold the type of jobs defined as a "self-employment jobs." i.e. jobs where the remuneration is directly dependent upon the profits derived from the goods and services produced. Self-employed workers include sub-categories of employers, own-account workers and members of producers' cooperatives and contributing family workers.