Publication:
Digital Skills in Nigeria: A Summary of the Population’s Skills and the Availability of Digital Infrastructure in Schools

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Files in English
English PDF (2.38 MB)
28 downloads
English Text (126.48 KB)
5 downloads
Published
2024-12-31
ISSN
Date
2025-09-03
Editor(s)
Abstract
The objective of this policy note is to provide an overview of the status of digital skills in Nigeria from a comparative perspective and understand how prepared educational institutions are to help develop the digital skills of the population. First, the note summarizes the status of access to digital infrastructure and equipment, a pre-condition to developing digital skills. The note also highlights the level of digital skills in the country based on survey data. Finally, the note summarizes the status of digital infrastructure in schools and educational facilities. The report can be seen as a complement to the digital skills section of the Nigeria Digital Economy Diagnostic Report (World Bank Group, 2019).
Link to Data Set
Citation
De Simone, Martin Elias; Manolio, Federico Alfredo. 2024. Digital Skills in Nigeria: A Summary of the Population’s Skills and the Availability of Digital Infrastructure in Schools. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/43657 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO.
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Report Series
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Publication
    Human Capital Public Expenditure and Institutional Review - An analysis of financing and governace constraints for the delievry of basic education and primary health care in Nigeria
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-07-22) Belay, Tekabe; De Simone, Martin Elias; Parajuli, Dilip; Okunola, Olumide Olaolu; Dahal, Mahesh; Gafar, Ayodeji; Pradhan, Elina; Chugunov, Dmitry; Isser, Deborah; Nweje, Ikechukwu John
    Human capital, the sum of a population’s health, skills, knowledge, and experience, constitutes a fundamental pillar in the sustainable development and economic growth of nations (World Bank 2018). It represents not just the capacity of individuals to contribute productively to society, but also the potential for countries to achieve higher levels of economic development and social well-being. This report focuses on identifying the constraints to and solutions for improving human capital outcomes in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a country with significant untapped potential in this critical area.
  • Publication
    Nigeria's Infrastructure : A Continental Perspective
    (2011-06-01) Pushak, Nataliya; Foster, Vivien
    Infrastructure made a net contribution of around one percentage point to Nigeria's improved per capita growth performance in recent years, in spite of the fact that unreliable power supplies held growth back. Raising the country's infrastructure endowment to that of the region's middle-income countries could boost annual growth by around 4 percentage points. Among its African peers, Nigeria has relatively advanced power, road, rail, and ICT networks that cover the national territory quite extensively. Extensive reforms are ongoing in the power, ports, ICT, and domestic air transport sectors. But challenges persist. The power sector's operational efficiency and cost recovery has been among the worst in Africa, supplying about half of what is required, with subsequent social costs of about 3.7 percent of GDP. The water and sanitation sector has inefficient operations, with low and declining levels of piped water coverage. Irrigation development is also low relative to the country's substantial potential. In the transport sector, Nigeria's road networks are in poor condition from lack of maintenance, and the country has a poor record on air transport safety. Addressing Nigeria's infrastructure challenges will require sustained expenditure of almost $14.2 billion per year over the next decade, or about 12 percent of GDP. Nigeria already spends about $5.9 billion. It is well placed to raise the funds needed for infrastructure, given the strength of the national economy, abundant oil revenues, and efforts at electricity cost recovery and other improvements to operations and management.
  • Publication
    Nigeria's Infrastructure
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-02) Pushak, Nataliya; Foster, Vivien
    Infrastructure has made a net contribution of around one percentage point to Nigeria's improved per capita growth performance in recent years, in spite of the fact that unreliable power supply held growth back. Raising the country's infrastructure endowment to that of the region's middle-income countries could boost annual growth by around four percentage points. Nigeria has made important strides toward improving much of its infrastructure. Compared to many African peers, Nigeria has relatively advanced power, road, rail, and information and communications technology (ICT) networks that cover extensive areas of the nation's territory. In recent years, Nigeria has conducted several important infrastructure sector reforms. The ports sector has been converted to a landlord model, and terminal concessions now attract private investment on a scale unprecedented for Africa. The power sector is undergoing a restructuring, paving the way for performance improvements; the sector is finally on a path toward raising tariffs to recover a larger share of costs. Bold liberalization measures in the ICT sector have resulted in widespread, low-cost mobile services, Africa's most vibrant fixed-line sector, and major private investments in the development of a national fiber-optic backbone. A burgeoning domestic air transport sector has emerged, with strong private carriers that have rapidly attained regional significance.
  • Publication
    The Skills Road : Skills for Employability in the Kyrgyz Republic
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-09) de Laat, Joost; Hut, Stefan; Larrison, Jennica; Abdulloev, Ilhom; Audy, Robin; Nikoloski, Zlatko; Torracchi, Federico; Ajwad, Mohamed Ihsan
    This report is about education, skills, and labor market outcomes in the Kyrgyz Republic. The report shows that skills are valued in the Kyrgyz Republic labor market, yet skills gaps persist. Three findings are particularly noteworthy. First, higher skilled youth have better employment outcomes, meaning that youth with more cognitive and non-cognitive skills are more likely to be employed than inactive or discouraged youth. Second, workers with higher cognitive and non-cognitive skills are more likely to use those skills in their daily work. Third, workers with higher skills—cognitive skills especially—tend to have higher quality (formal sector, less repetitive tasks, less physical work) jobs. However, large variations in observed skills among those with the same level of educational attainment indicate that formal education is failing too many people, even though skill development occurs at different stages in the life cycle and a host of actors are involved—families, for example, play a central role. The report argues that the government could shift some of its focus from providing access to educational institutions and instead focus on providing the skills (cognitive, non-cognitive, and technical) students need to succeed as adults. The government can also do more to get children off to the right start by investing in early childhood development programs, where rates of return to investment are generally very high and important soft skills are learned. Finally, more can be done to match the supply of skills with employer demand by improving the use of information in matching skills to jobs in the labor market.
  • Publication
    The Skills Road : Skills for Employability in Tajikistan
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-09) Hut, Stefan; Abdulloev, Ilhom; Audy, Robin; de Laat, Joost; Kataoka, Sachiko; Larrison, Jennica; Nikoloski, Zlatko; Torracchi, Federico; Ajwad, Mohamed Ihsan
    This report addresses a fundamental question facing policy makers in Tajikistan: is the current level of worker skills hindering employment outcomes? Using a unique household survey, the study finds that skills are valued in Tajikistan’s labor market, yet skills gaps persist. Jobs have been created in more knowledge-intensive occupations and in the service sector as opposed to the more traditional manual jobs, and employment outcomes are stronger for workers with better skills. Analysis of worker skills shows that workers with better cognitive and non-cognitive skills are typically more likely to have the highly sought-after formal sector jobs; and in fact make more frequent and intense use of mathematics and reading skills on the job. Furthermore, workers with better non-cognitive skills tend to become supervisors. The study finds that there are large variations in observed skills among those with the same level of educational attainment, indicating that formal education is failing too many people even though skills are developed during different stages in the life cycle and a host of actors are involved—families, for example, play a central role. The report’s conclusion is that the government could shift the focus from providing access to educational institutions and instead focus on providing the skills (cognitive, non-cognitive, and technical) students need to succeed as adults. The government can also do more to get children off to the right start by investing in early childhood development programs, where rates of return to investment are generally very high and important soft skills are learned. Finally, more can be done to match worker skills with employer demand by improving the use of information in matching skills to jobs in the labor market.

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

  • Publication
    Digital Progress and Trends Report 2025: Strengthening AI Foundations
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-11-24) World Bank
    The recent rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) has outpaced society’s ability to fully grasp its implications. Unlike technological shifts that have unfolded over decades, AI’s integration is accelerating at an unprecedented speed and scale. Along with AI’s immense opportunities come new responsibilities—especially for ethical deployment, accountability, and alignment with human values—that have few precedents in previous technology revolutions. This 2025 edition of the "Digital Progress and Trends Report (DPTR)" explores how low- and middle-income countries can harness AI to drive inclusive and sustainable development—and avoid being left behind. The report explains what makes AI different from earlier general-purpose technologies and why it matters for development. It introduces the 4Cs, the foundations essential for AI adoption, adaptation, and innovation: connectivity (infrastructure), compute (processing power), context (training data, algorithms, and applications), and competency (digital skills). Drawing on rich, novel data sets, this DPTR benchmarks countries across the 4Cs, analyzes supply and demand dynamics, and identifies market failures and externalities where policy action is urgently needed. This report emphasizes the need for global coordination and targeted interventions to close the widening AI gaps, where resource constraints threaten to exacerbate inequality. Policy insights will help governments unlock AI’s potential while navigating its risks.
  • Publication
    South Asia Development Update, October 2025: Jobs, AI, and Trade
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-10-07) World Bank
    Growth in South Asia is on track to exceed earlier expectations and reach 6.6 percent in 2025, but is expected to slow to 5.8 percent in 2026. While this short-term outlook is subject to downside risks, over the longer term, artificial intelligence (AI) could promote growth by boosting productivity especially among those 15 percent of South Asian workers who are in jobs where AI strongly complements human labor. Such a growth dividend could be amplified by trade reforms. Carefully sequenced tariff cuts, especially in conjunction with broader free trade agreements, would encourage private investment and job creation in trade-related activities, which disproportionately employ South Asia’s younger and higher-skilled workers and have accounted for most of South Asia’s employment growth over the past decade. This could particularly benefit manufacturing, where elevated tariffs on production inputs currently diminish competitiveness. South Asia’s governments can support the adjustment of labor markets to new technologies and trade opportunities by proactively removing obstacles to workers’ reallocation to new firms, occupations, and locations. Simultaneously, they could protect vulnerable workers during this period of change by streamlining and strengthening safety nets.
  • Publication
    Sahel Irrigation Strategy
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-09-05) World Bank
    The Sahel Irrigation Strategy aims to guide participating countries to scale up irrigation expansion and modernization rapidly and responsibly with a more diverse suite of interventions to optimize the use of their natural and financial resources. It provides a comprehensive roadmap to unlock the full potential of sustainable irrigation as a driver of agricultural productivity, food security, and resilience across the Sahel. Its primary objectives include taking stock of the progress achieved over the past decade, identifying emerging trends and challenges, and moving beyond problem identification to actionable solutions rooted in lessons learned. The strategy establishes updated and shared goals for irrigated agriculture tailored to short-term (2035), medium-term (2045), and long-term (2055) horizons. These targets are accompanied by a clear framework for intervention, designed to foster collective commitment and coordinated efforts among the six Sahelian countries.
  • Publication
    Accelerating Investment: Challenges and Policies
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-09-19) Adarov, Amat (editor)
    Investment is the engine that expands productive capacity, modernizes infrastructure, creates jobs, and drives progress toward development and climate goals. Yet developing economies face an investment shortfall of historic proportions. Even as development needs rise, investment growth has slowed to about half its pace in the 2000s. Public investment alone cannot fill this gap. Private investment must play the leading role in reigniting growth, creating jobs, and supporting the transition to a more sustainable and resilient future. This book presents the World Bank’s most comprehensive assessment of investment in emerging and developing economies. It examines why investment matters, why it has stalled, and what it will take to revive it. The analysis highlights that countries that have successfully triggered investment booms combined sound macroeconomic frameworks with reforms that improved the business climate, strengthened governance, and mobilized private capital. History shows that when investment surges, economies grow faster, job creation accelerates, and poverty declines more rapidly. Reversing today’s slowdown is within reach — through credible fiscal and monetary policies, well-targeted public investment that attracts private capital, and stronger international cooperation to mobilize finance at scale. Reigniting investment is not just a national priority — it is a global imperative.
  • Publication
    Togo Economic Update, August 2025: Boosting Growth and Restoring Fiscal Space in Uncertain Times
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-08-28) World Bank
    Togo’s economic trajectory in recent years has been shaped by both resilient performance and emerging vulnerabilities. The 2025 Economic Update underscores the urgency of restoring fiscal space and implementing strategic structural reforms to sustain private sector-led growth and job creation. Through an integrated analysis in two chapters, the report presents a nuanced narrative of the country’s macroeconomic outlook and delineates actionable policy paths to foster inclusive, sustainable development.