Nigeria's prevalence of anemia among pregnant women (%) was 45% in 2023, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 4.1 percentage points from 49.1% in 2013.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 45% | 2023 |
| Five years earlier | 47% | 2018 |
| Ten years earlier | 49.1% | 2013 |
| Highest | 55.2% | 2000 |
| Lowest | 45% | 2023 |
| Average since 2014 | 46.75% | 2014–2023 |
| First recorded | 55.2% | 2000 |
What the numbers say
In 2023, Nigeria's prevalence of anemia among pregnant women (%) fell 0.2 percentage points on 2022 (from 45.2% to 45%).
Across the 22 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2022), the average change was −0.45 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.09 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 3.0 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.
On record, the biggest yearly fall was 0.6 percentage points in 2010. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2014 to 2023 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.43 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 99% of the movement over 10 observed years.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
A straight-line projection, tested first
Extending that straight line gives about 43.49% for 2026. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2021 to 2023 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 0.15%, against 0.77% for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.
See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.
How it compares
In 2023, Nigeria had the 26th highest value of the 192 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | 45% | 2023 |
| World | 35.48% | 2023 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 43.15% | 2023 |
| Lower middle income | 43.45% | 2023 |
Closest to Nigeria in the 2023 ranking
- Haiti — 23rd of 192: 45.5%
- Ghana — 24th of 192: 45.3%
- Congo, Dem. Rep. — 25th of 192: 45.1%
- Burundi — 27th of 192: 44.7%
- Cabo Verde — 28th of 192: 43.9%
- Myanmar — 29th of 192: 43.4%
What this measures
Prevalence of anemia, pregnant women, is the percentage of pregnant women whose hemoglobin level is less than 110 grams per liter at sea level.
Limitations: Data should be used with caution because surveys differ in quality, coverage, age group interviewed, and treatment of missing values across countries and over time. Data on anemia are compiled by the WHO based mainly on nationally representative surveys, which measure hemoglobin in the blood. WHO's hemoglobin thresholds are then used to determine anemia status based on age, sex, and physiological status.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 24 values
| Year | Prevalence of anemia among pregnant women (%) |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 45 |
| 2022 | 45.2 |
| 2021 | 45.5 |
| 2020 | 46 |
| 2019 | 46.5 |
| 2018 | 47 |
| 2017 | 47.4 |
| 2016 | 47.9 |
| 2015 | 48.3 |
| 2014 | 48.7 |
| 2013 |
Prevalence of anemia among pregnant women (%) in nearby economies
- Angola — 45.9% (2023)
- Benin — 60.2% (2023)
- Botswana — 31.4% (2023)
- Burkina Faso — 49.5% (2023)
- Burundi — 44.7% (2023)
- Cabo Verde — 43.9% (2023)
- Cameroon — 41% (2023)
- Central African Republic — 48.4% (2023)
- Chad — 51.2% (2023)
- Comoros — 35.5% (2023)
More health data for Nigeria
- Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 14.4% (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 14.42% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female — 47.42 million (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 40.41% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male — 48.82 million (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 40.62% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, total — 96.25 million (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 40.52% (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 13.33% (2025)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Nigeria's prevalence of anemia among pregnant women (%)?
- 45% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 2000?
- It is down 10.2 percentage points from 55.2% in 2000. The highest value was 55.2% in 2000 and the lowest 45% in 2023.
- How does Nigeria rank?
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SH.PRG.ANEM, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Global Health Observatory Data Repository/World Health Statistics, World Health Organization (WHO) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.
Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.
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