Number of people requiring preventive treatment for river blindness in Nigeria

Nigeria: Number of people requiring preventive treatment for river blindness was 40.38 million People in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
40.38 million People
Change on year
down 13.9%
World rank
2nd
of 31 countries
All-time high
55.77 million People
in 2018
All-time low
40.38 million People
in 2024
Years of data
12
2013–2024

Number of people requiring preventive treatment for river blindness in Nigeria, 2013–2024

020.0M40.0M60.0M2013201820242013: 50.1M People2014: 51.4M People2015: 47.5M People2016: 53.1M People2017: 49.9M People2018: 55.8M People2019: 50.6M People2020: 51.7M People2021: 50.9M People2022: 43.5M People2023: 46.9M People2024: 40.4M People

Source: World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in People.

Analysis

In 2024, number of people requiring preventive treatment for river blindness in Nigeria stood at 40.38 million People. That is the lowest value across all 12 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 13.9% on the previous year and down 21.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of people requiring preventive treatment for river blindness in Nigeria peaked at 55.77 million People in 2018 and was at its lowest, 40.38 million People, in 2024.

That places Nigeria 2nd out of 31 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 12 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 51.19 million People 47.48 million People 55.77 million People 7
2020s 46.67 million People 40.38 million People 51.73 million People 5

Countries ranked near Nigeria

  1. 1 Democratic Republic of Congo 57.75 million People compare
  2. 3 Ethiopia 30.56 million People compare
  3. 4 Cote d'Ivoire 22.62 million People compare
  4. 5 Guinea 11.78 million People compare

See the full ranking of 31 places →

More population data for Nigeria

All data for Nigeria →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of people requiring preventive treatment for river blindness in Nigeria?
Number of people requiring preventive treatment for river blindness in Nigeria was 40.38 million People in 2024, according to World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest number of people requiring preventive treatment for river blindness recorded in Nigeria?
The highest recorded value was 55.77 million People in 2018.
What is the lowest number of people requiring preventive treatment for river blindness recorded in Nigeria?
The lowest recorded value was 40.38 million People in 2024.
How does Nigeria rank for number of people requiring preventive treatment for river blindness?
Nigeria ranks 2nd out of 31 countries with data for 2024.
Is number of people requiring preventive treatment for river blindness rising or falling in Nigeria?
Over the last ten years it is down 21.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Nigeria data come from?
The figures come from World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of people requiring preventive treatment for river blindness. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 12 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Number of people requiring preventive treatment for river blindness
Unit
People
Source
World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
31 places, 359 data points, 2013–2024
Last refreshed

The estimated number of people at risk of river blindness) who require preventive chemotherapy.