Nigerian Women Do Five Times More Unpaid Work Than Men, Survey Reveals

A new national survey has exposed a stark gender gap in unpaid labor, showing that Nigerian women spend more than five times as many hours as men on domestic and care work.

The Nigeria Time Use Survey 2024, released by the National Bureau of Statistics in partnership with UN Women, found women aged 15 and above devote an average of five hours per day to such tasks, compared to just one hour for men. This represents 21% of a woman’s day versus 4.1% for a man.

The imbalance persists across all demographics, including location, employment status, and wealth levels. Rural women bear the greatest burden, spending nearly six hours daily on unpaid work, largely due to limited access to basic infrastructure like water and childcare.

In detailed breakdowns, women spend 15.1% of their day on domestic chores like cooking and cleaning, versus 2.9% for men. For care work such as looking after children and the elderly women allocate 5.9% of their time, men just 1.2%.

The survey, conducted in Borno, Cross River, Kaduna, and Lagos states, also showed state-level differences. Women in Borno recorded the highest share of time on unpaid work (25.1% of their day), while men in Cross River spent the most (5.6%).

Employment did not level the field. Working women still spent 20.2% of their day on unpaid labor, significantly more than non-working men at 5.8%.

Statistician-General of the Federation, Prince Adeyemi Adeniran, said the data makes visible the often-overlooked contributions that sustain households. The findings are intended to inform more gender-responsive policies and align with Nigeria’s Sustainable Development Goal commitments.

The survey covered 3,600 households and over 6,400 individuals, following international standards to ensure reliability.