Share of female business owners in Nigeria
Nigeria: Share of female business owners was 33.7% in 2020. ▬ Flat
Share of female business owners in Nigeria, 2015–2020
Source: World Bank's Entrepreneurship Survey and database (https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/entrepreneurship). Downloaded on May 2, 2026. Measured in % of total business owners.
Analysis
Nigeria recorded 33.7% for share of female business owners in 2020.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.9% on the previous year and up 3.5% over ten years.
That places Nigeria 17th out of 72 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top quarter.
Share of female business owners in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | % of total business owners | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 32.5% | — |
| 2016 | 32.8% | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 33.6% | +2.5% |
| 2018 | 33.5% | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 34.3% | +2.3% |
| 2020 | 33.7% | -1.9% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 33.7% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 21.7%, 1.5× the median. (21 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 33.7% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 27.2%, 1.2× the median. (16 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 33.4% | 32.5% | 34.3% | 5 |
| 2020s | 33.7% | 33.7% | 33.7% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More private sector data for Nigeria
- Merchandise trade 33.3% (2025)
- Food imports 11.0% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 46.0% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 41.45 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 6.0% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 3.5% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 55.47 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 233.52 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1907 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 4.03 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of female business owners in Nigeria?
- Share of female business owners in Nigeria was 33.7% in 2020, according to World Bank's Entrepreneurship Survey and database (https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/entrepreneurship). Downloaded on May 2, 2026.
- What is the highest share of female business owners recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 34.3% in 2019.
- What is the lowest share of female business owners recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 32.5% in 2015.
- How does Nigeria rank for share of female business owners?
- Nigeria ranks 17th out of 72 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of female business owners rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Nigeria data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank's Entrepreneurship Survey and database (https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/entrepreneurship). Downloaded on May 2, 2026, published as part of Share of female business owners (% of total business owners). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Share of female business is the proportion of female newly registered limited liability company owners out of the total number of newly registered limited liability company owners in the economy in the calendar year.