- A majority (61%) of Nigerians say girls and women should be able to decide for themselves whether and when to marry. But only 47% say women should be able to decide when to have children and how many children to have.
- Women are significantly more likely than men to support women’s autonomy in reproductive choices (54% vs. 39%) and marriage (65% vs. 56%).
- Seven in 10 Nigerians (70%) say pupils who get pregnant or have children should be allowed to continue their schooling.
- An equally large majority (70%) support the inclusion of sexuality education in school curricula.
- Only about four in 10 citizens agree that contraceptives should be made available to anyone who is sexually active regardless of age (39%) and marital status (37%).
- Six in 10 Nigerians (59%) see terminating a pregnancy as “sometimes” or “always” justified if a woman’s life or health is at risk. A slim majority (51%) say abortion is justifiable in cases of rape or incest.
- But large majorities consider abortion “never justified” in cases where the pregnancy is unwanted for any reason (73%) or where the woman is economically unable to care for a child (71%).
Across Africa, about 130 million girls and women were married before the age of 18 (UNICEF West and Central Africa, 2022). Child marriage is closely linked with adolescent pregnancy, which exposes girls to increased risks of birth complications, maternal mortality, disrupted education, and persistent poverty (United Nations, 2025). International human-rights instruments, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, explicitly prohibit child marriage (United Nations General Assembly, 1979).
So does Nigeria’s 2003 Child Rights Act. Yet one in three Nigerian women aged 15-49 were in union before age 18 – many of them before age 15 (National Bureau of Statistics, 2022; Human Rights Watch, 2022).
Similarly, other aspects of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are enshrined in Nigeria’s legal framework as fundamental components of public health and human rights, but implementation and enforcement encounter major challenges (Ogedegbe, Adeagbo, Yankam, Badru, Gadanya, & Bain, 2025).
Among these rights is the ability to make informed decisions about one’s reproductive health, with access to family-planning education as well as affordable and adequate reproductive-health services. But social norms and structural barriers such as limited access to health-care facilities, poverty, and inadequate health-system capacity continue to restrict access to reproductive health services, particularly for women in rural areas and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds (Akinyemi, Afolabi, & Awolude, 2016). High rates of teen and unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions pose persistent risks to women’s health and lives (Ogedegbe et al., 2025). According to the 2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, the modern contraceptive prevalence rate among married women is 15%, though practices vary widely across the country (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2024; Alabi, Odimegwu, De-Wet, & Akinyemi, 2019).
The World Health Organization (2023) recommends sexuality and reproductive-health education in schools as a key strategy for improving the well-being of young people. Nigeria introduced sexuality education in public schools in 2003 through the Family Life and HIV Education Curriculum, aimed at improving young people’s knowledge of sexual health and reducing HIV transmission (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2003). Implementation has since been reinforced through the Child Rights Act and the 2017 National Reproductive Health Policy and Strategy (Federal Ministry of Health, 2017).
Nevertheless, sexuality education remains a sensitive and contested issue in Nigeria, limiting information for many adolescents (Afolabi, Ilesanmi, & Ajala, 2025). Cultural and religious norms shape public attitudes, and discussions about sexuality with young people are often discouraged. This resistance is particularly evident in northern Nigeria, where health intervention programmes are sometimes opposed due to perceptions that they promote Western ideologies (Emenike, Onukwugha, Sarki, & Smith, 2022). In many communities, there is a prevailing belief that limiting young people’s knowledge about sexual matters until marriage is the best way to prevent sexual immorality (Musa, 2020).
A special question module in Afrobarometer’s Round 10 survey in Nigeria explores citizens’ experiences and opinions regarding sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Findings show mixed feelings about women’s autonomy: A majority think girls and women should be able to decide for themselves whether and when to get married, but fewer than half say the same for decisions about the timing and number of children to have.
Nigerians express strong support for including sexuality education in school curricula and for allowing girls who get pregnant or have children to stay in school.
But majorities oppose unrestricted access to contraceptives for young and unmarried people.
And while more than half consider abortion justifiable if a woman’s life or health is at risk or if the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest, most oppose it on grounds of economic hardship.
