Rivers Tops Nigerian States in Student Performance Ranking

 written by Muhammed Yahya

Rivers Leads Nigerian States in Student Performance Ranking

Rivers State has emerged at the top of a ranking measuring student academic performance across Nigeria, scoring 76.6 out of 100 and placing ahead of Cross River, Ebonyi, Enugu and Anambra.

The ranking, which covers all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), compares educational outcomes using historical examination and university admission data. It places several South-East and South-South states among the highest-scoring locations, while a number of states in the North-East and North-West occupy the lower positions.

According to the figures, Rivers leads the table with 76.6 points, followed by Cross River with 74.0. Ebonyi takes third place with 71.4, while Enugu and Anambra complete the top five with 70.5 and 70.2 respectively.

Top 10 States in the Academic Performance Ranking

The top 10 positions are dominated by states from the South-East and South-South regions.

PositionStateScore1Rivers76.62Cross River74.03Ebonyi71.44Enugu70.55Anambra70.26Abia69.87Bayelsa69.68Imo68.79Benue67.610Edo65.9

Rivers leads Cross River by 2.6 points, while the difference between Ebonyi in third place and Anambra in fifth is just 1.2 points.

Abia, Bayelsa and Imo also recorded scores above 68, indicating a relatively close spread among several of the highest-ranked states.

How Other States Performed

Beyond the top 10, Taraba occupies 11th position with 63.1 points, followed by Nasarawa, Delta and Kogi.

Akwa Ibom ranks 15th with 61.2, while Kano is the highest-ranked state from the North-West in the supplied table, occupying 16th position with 60.7.

Lagos comes in at 18th with 59.5, while Ogun, Ondo and Ekiti occupy 21st, 22nd and 23rd positions respectively.

Oyo State is ranked 27th with 46.8 points, while Osun sits in 35th position with 29.3.

The bottom five positions are occupied by Osun, Borno, Zamfara, Bauchi and Yobe, although the exact order places Yobe 33rd, Bauchi 34th, Osun 35th, Borno 36th and Zamfara 37th.

Zamfara recorded 0.0, the lowest score in the table. That figure deserves particular caution: without further documentation, it should not automatically be interpreted as proof that students in the state recorded no academic achievement.

South-East and South-South States Feature Prominently

The regional distribution provides another interesting dimension to the figures.

South-East states recorded several strong positions, with Ebonyi, Enugu and Anambra occupying third, fourth and fifth places. Abia and Imo also made the top eight.

The South-South region equally had a strong showing, led by Rivers in first place, Cross River in second and Bayelsa in seventh. Edo and Akwa Ibom also appeared in the top 15.

In comparison, the South-West had Lagos as its highest-ranked state at 18th position, while Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti, Oyo and Osun appeared further down the table.

The figures show a difference in the scores across regions, but they should not be treated as a complete assessment of the quality of every school or the abilities of students in each region.

What Was Used to Calculate the Scores?

The accompanying methodology describes the index as a combination of two educational indicators: WAEC performance and JAMB admission rates.

For WAEC, it uses the percentage of candidates obtaining at least five credits, including English Language and Mathematics, between 2019 and 2021.

The second indicator is based on JAMB admission rates from 2018.

The scores are presented on a scale of 100, with higher figures indicating stronger performance under the index's methodology. The coverage includes Nigeria's 36 states and the FCT, bringing the total number of entries to 37.

However, the underlying data covers different historical periods rather than the 2026 academic year. The ranking should therefore be understood as a historical comparison presented in 2026, not a verified measure of current student performance.

The methodology also does not establish that the index captures every aspect of education, including school infrastructure, teacher availability, learning conditions, access to education or recent examination results.

Academic Performance Goes Beyond Rankings

The figures provide a snapshot of how the listed states compare under the selected indicators. They also raise questions about the factors influencing examination outcomes and university admission opportunities across the country.

For students, parents, teachers and education policymakers, the more important issue is how to improve learning outcomes consistently, regardless of where a state appears on the table.

Better access to learning materials, qualified teachers, effective school management, regular assessments and support for students can all form part of efforts to improve educational standards.

While Rivers leads this particular index, the historical data should not be mistaken for a definitive ranking of Nigeria's best education systems in 2026.

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