How Reading Less Is Keeping Nigerians Poor (The Income-Reading Connection)

I remember the day I walked into a friend's apartment in Lagos and saw his bookshelf. Or rather, I saw the absence of one. There was a fifty-five-inch television mounted on the wall, a PlayStation 5 on the stand below it, and a coffee table covered in remote controls, phone chargers, and empty Coke cans. But not a single book. Not one. When I asked him when he last read anything that wasn't a WhatsApp status or an Instagram caption, he laughed and said, "Bro, reading is for students. I graduated three years ago. I'm done with that life."

That was three years ago. Today, that same friend is still in the same one-bedroom apartment, still working the same entry-level job, still complaining about how "Nigeria is hard" and how there are no opportunities. Meanwhile, another friend of ours—someone who spends at least thirty minutes reading every day—just got promoted for the second time in two years and is currently considering a job offer that pays three times what my first friend earns.

Coincidence? I don't think so.

Here is the uncomfortable truth that nobody wants to tell you: your reading habit—or lack of it—is directly connected to your bank account. The less you read, the poorer you stay. And if you are a Nigerian between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five, this is not just a personal problem. It is a national crisis that is keeping an entire generation trapped in poverty.

Let me show you the numbers. Let me show you why reading less is literally keeping you poor. And most importantly, let me show you how to fix it before it is too late.

The Numbers Do Not Lie: Nigerians Are Not Reading

Let us start with some hard facts. In 2025, over 1.9 million candidates sat for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). Of these, only 12,414 scored above 300. More than 1.5 million students scored below 200. Think about that for a moment. Out of nearly two million young people, less than one percent performed at a level that could be considered excellent.

But this is not just about exam scores. A 2021 survey by the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council found that only fifty-six percent of Nigerian adults read at least one book per year. The average Nigerian reads less than one book per year. And according to a 2021 World Culture Score Index, Nigeria ranked among countries with the lowest reading culture, with the average Nigerian spending less than thirty minutes per week reading.

Compare that to the rest of the world. According to the World Population Review, Americans read an average of seventeen books per year, spending about 357 hours annually on reading. Indians read sixteen books per year, spending 352 hours. The British read fifteen books per year. Even in a country like Egypt, the average person reads 5.41 books per year.

Now be honest with yourself. When was the last time you finished a book? Not a blog post, not a news article, not a Twitter thread. An actual book. If you cannot remember, you are part of a statistic that should terrify you. And here is why.

The Direct Link Between Reading and Earning

In 2025, the Center for Global Development published a groundbreaking study using longitudinal data from Indonesia that tracked children from ages seven to twelve all the way into their late twenties. The findings were staggering. Children who scored well in reading and mathematics went on to earn roughly eleven percent more as adults. Even after accounting for family background and education, the earnings premium remained significant.

Another study showed that children who achieved early literacy and numeracy had at least four percent higher earnings in adulthood. And in Pakistan, a randomly assigned intervention that improved test scores led to even larger earnings gains.

But you do not need to look at foreign studies to understand this. Think about it logically. What does reading do? It expands your vocabulary, which makes you communicate better. It exposes you to new ideas, which makes you think more critically. It teaches you how to solve problems, which makes you more valuable in any workplace. It gives you knowledge that other people do not have, which makes you stand out.

Every single one of these things translates directly to money. The person who can write a better proposal gets the contract. The person who can articulate their thoughts more clearly gets the promotion. The person who knows more about their industry gets the better job offers. The person who reads about personal finance makes better investment decisions. The person who reads about negotiation techniques closes better deals.

The research is clear: reading proficiency is a strong predictor of employability, earnings, and long-term career outcomes. This is not an opinion. This is data.

The Nigerian Paradox: More Graduates, Less Reading

Here is where it gets interesting. Nigeria has one of the highest literacy rates in Africa—around sixty-two percent for adults. We produce over 600,000 university graduates every year. And yet, according to the State of the Nigerian Youth Report 2025, youth unemployment stands at fifty-three percent, which translates to about eighty million young Nigerians without jobs.

How can we have so many educated people and so few opportunities? The answer is that education and reading are not the same thing.

Most Nigerians read only to pass exams. Once the exam is over, the book is closed, and it never opens again. We read to memorize, not to understand. We read to pass, not to learn. We read for grades, not for growth.

A study of secondary school students in Ibadan found that adolescents had a moderately high level of poverty and peer pressure but a low reading culture level. The study also found a weak, negative, and significant correlation between poverty level and reading culture. In other words, the poorer you are, the less you read. And the less you read, the poorer you stay. It is a vicious cycle.

The International Labour Organization recently observed that too many Nigerian graduates possess theoretical knowledge but lack practical industry-related competencies. They are overqualified on paper but underqualified in reality. They have certificates but not skills. They have degrees but not knowledge.

Why? Because they stopped reading the moment they stopped being examined.

What You Are Actually Doing Instead of Reading

Let us be honest about what is really happening. You are not reading books because you are too busy doing other things. Let me guess what those things are:

Social media. You spend hours scrolling through Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. You watch other people's lives, other people's opinions, other people's content. You consume, but you do not learn. You are entertained, but you are not educated.

Streaming services. You binge-watch shows on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Showmax. You know every plot twist in every popular series, but you cannot name five books that have been published in Nigeria in the last year.

Betting. Book clubs in places like Lugbe and Karu in Abuja have been replaced by betting shops. Instead of investing in knowledge, you are investing in luck. And we all know how that ends.

Complaining. You spend hours complaining about how hard life is, how the government has failed you, how there are no jobs, how the economy is terrible. You complain about everything except the one thing you can actually control: your own mind.

A study found that Nigerian students who were highly exposed to social media spent just one to two hours reading per day, while some hardly read at all but always stayed on social media for nothing less than three hours. You are spending more time watching other people live their lives than you are spending improving your own.

And you wonder why you are poor.

The Wealthy Read. The Poor Scroll.

This is not a coincidence. This is a pattern.

A five-year study of millionaires found that eighty-eight percent of wealthy people read for thirty minutes daily for self-education. Not fiction. Not entertainment. Not social media. Educational content that directly increases their earning potential.

Think about that. The wealthy are not reading for fun. They are reading for profit. They are reading to get smarter, to get better, to get richer. They understand that knowledge compounds just like money does. The more you know, the more you earn. The more you earn, the more you can invest. The more you invest, the richer you become.

The poor, on the other hand, are scrolling. They are watching. They are consuming. But they are not learning. They are not growing. They are not investing in themselves.

Here is a question for you: If you spent just thirty minutes a day reading something that could improve your skills, your knowledge, or your mindset, what would your life look like in one year? In five years? In ten?

Now ask yourself: What are you actually doing with those thirty minutes right now?

The Excuses and Why They Are Nonsense

Before you start making excuses, let me address them one by one.

"Books are too expensive." This is the most common excuse, and it is also the weakest. Yes, physical books can be expensive in Nigeria. But you have a smartphone, do you not? You have data, do you not? There are thousands of free books available online. There are PDFs, there are e-books, there are audiobooks, there are blogs, there are newsletters. If you can afford to scroll through Instagram for three hours a day, you can afford to read.

"I do not have time." You have time. You have the same twenty-four hours that everyone else has. You have time to watch movies, time to scroll social media, time to complain, and time to sleep. You just do not prioritize reading. Be honest about that.

"Reading is boring." You have not found the right books. Reading is not boring; you are reading the wrong things. If you find a topic you are genuinely interested in—whether it is business, technology, history, self-improvement, or even fiction—reading becomes addictive. You just have not discovered what excites you yet.

"I read what I need for work." No, you do not. You read what you need to get by. You read enough to do your job, but not enough to excel at it. There is a difference between reading to survive and reading to thrive.

"I do not know what to read." This is the easiest problem to solve. Ask Google. Ask ChatGPT. Ask your friends who read. Go to a bookstore and browse. Start with something simple. Start with something short. Just start.

What Reading Actually Does to Your Brain

Let me explain why reading is so powerful, because most people do not actually understand it.

Reading is not just about absorbing information. Reading rewires your brain. When you read, you are forced to focus. You cannot multitask while reading. You cannot scroll away every thirty seconds. You have to sit with the text, process it, understand it, and think about it.

This builds your attention span. In a world where your attention is the most valuable thing you own, the ability to focus for extended periods is a superpower. The person who can focus can learn. The person who can learn can adapt. The person who can adapt can survive and thrive in any economy.

Reading also builds your vocabulary. The more words you know, the more precisely you can think. The more precisely you can think, the more effectively you can communicate. The more effectively you communicate, the more persuasive you become. And persuasion is the foundation of influence, leadership, and wealth.

Reading also exposes you to different perspectives. You learn how other people think, how they solve problems, how they see the world. This makes you more empathetic, more creative, and more innovative. It helps you see opportunities that other people miss.

A study of adults in New Zealand found that reading engagement had statistical and substantial positive effects on earnings, health, social trust, political efficacy, and civic engagement. Reading does not just make you richer. It makes you healthier, happier, and more connected to your community.

The Generational Impact of Not Reading

Here is the part that should really scare you. The reading crisis in Nigeria is not just about you. It is about your children. It is about the next generation. It is about the future of this country.

A study on the effects of childhood reading experiences on adult consciousness, motivations, and activities found that childhood reading experiences have a relatively stronger influence on adult outcomes than individual annual income. In other words, what you read as a child matters more for your future than how much money your parents had.

If you are not reading, what example are you setting for your children? If they never see you with a book, why would they pick one up? If you spend your evenings scrolling through social media, why would they spend theirs reading?

Nigeria currently has one of the highest numbers of out-of-school children in the world. According to UNICEF, 10.2 million children of primary school age are not in school. And even among those who are in school, only twenty-seven percent of children aged seven to fourteen have foundational reading skills.

We are raising a generation that cannot read, does not read, and will not read. And we are wondering why the country is not progressing.

The Counter-Argument: Is Reading Really the Answer?

Now, I know what some of you are thinking. You are thinking, "But what about all the educated people who are still unemployed? What about all the graduates who cannot find jobs? What about all the people who read and are still poor?"

These are fair questions. And they deserve honest answers.

First, reading alone is not enough. You have to read the right things. Reading romance novels for eight hours a day is not going to make you richer. You need to read things that build your skills, expand your knowledge, and improve your mindset.

Second, reading has to be combined with action. Knowledge without action is worthless. You can read a hundred books on entrepreneurship, but if you never start a business, nothing changes. You can read fifty books on personal finance, but if you never save or invest, nothing changes.

Third, the system is broken. Yes, there are systemic issues—unemployment, poor infrastructure, corruption, lack of opportunities. These are real problems, and reading alone will not solve them. But not reading will definitely not solve them either.

The point is not that reading is a magic bullet. The point is that not reading is a guaranteed way to stay poor. If you are not reading, you are not growing. If you are not growing, you are falling behind. And if you are falling behind in this economy, you are heading for poverty.

How to Start Reading (And Actually Stick to It)

If you have made it this far, you are probably convinced that reading matters. But knowing and doing are two different things. Here is how to actually start reading and make it a habit:

1. Start small. Do not try to read a five-hundred-page book in a week. Start with ten pages a day. Or even five pages. The goal is consistency, not volume.

2. Read what you enjoy. If you hate fiction, read non-fiction. If you hate business books, read biographies. If you hate long books, read articles. The goal is to enjoy the process so you keep doing it.

3. Set a specific time. Read at the same time every day—morning, lunch break, or before bed. Make it part of your routine.

4. Remove distractions. Put your phone on silent. Close your social media apps. Create a space where you can focus.

5. Track your progress. Use a reading tracker or a simple notebook. Write down what you read and what you learned. This creates accountability.

6. Join a community. Find people who read. Join a book club. Follow book reviewers. Share what you are reading. This keeps you motivated.

7. Apply what you read. Take notes. Implement ideas. Share what you have learned with others. This makes reading active rather than passive.

A Note on the Nigerian Publishing Industry

You might be wondering, if Nigerians are not reading, what is happening to Nigerian publishers?

The reality is that the Nigerian book market generated an estimated US$26.6 million in revenue in 2025. Publishers struggle to sell 2,000 copies of their books in a country of over 200 million people. The number of active readers with the purchasing power to afford books is very small.

This is both a problem and an opportunity. It is a problem because it means Nigerian authors are not being adequately supported. It is an opportunity because it means there is a massive untapped market waiting for someone—maybe you—to tap into it.

If more Nigerians started reading, the publishing industry would grow. More books would be written. More jobs would be created. More knowledge would be shared. The economy would benefit. Everyone would win.

But that starts with you. It starts with all of us deciding that reading matters.

The Choice Is Yours

You can keep doing what you are doing. You can keep scrolling, keep watching, keep complaining, keep wondering why life is so hard. You can keep blaming the government, the economy, your parents, your village people.

Or you can pick up a book.

You can decide that you are going to invest in yourself. You can decide that you are going to learn, grow, and improve. You can decide that you are not going to be part of the statistic. You can decide that you are going to break the cycle.

The choice is yours. But make no mistake: every day you choose not to read, you are choosing to stay poor. It is that simple.

I am not saying it is easy. I am not saying that reading will magically solve all your problems. I am saying that it is a necessary condition for success. You cannot get rich without knowledge. You cannot get knowledge without reading. You cannot read without making a deliberate choice to do so.

So what is it going to be? Are you going to keep making excuses? Or are you going to start reading?

The answer to that question will determine the answer to a much bigger question: Will you be poor, or will you be prosperous?

Frequently Asked Questions

How does reading directly increase my income?

Reading builds critical thinking, vocabulary, and problem-solving skills that employers value. Studies show that children with strong reading skills earn up to eleven percent more as adults. In the workplace, readers communicate better, solve problems faster, and adapt more quickly to change—all of which lead to promotions, better job offers, and higher earnings.

How many books does the average Nigerian read per year?

The average Nigerian reads less than one book per year. Only about fifty-six percent of Nigerian adults read at least one book annually. By comparison, Americans read an average of seventeen books per year, and Indians read sixteen.

Why are Nigerians reading less than people in other countries?

Multiple factors contribute: economic pressures that make books seem unaffordable, lack of functional libraries in many schools, the rise of social media as a primary source of entertainment, and an education system that emphasizes rote memorization for exams rather than cultivating a love for reading.

Is reading books better for my career than reading online articles?

Both are valuable, but books offer depth that articles cannot match. Books provide comprehensive treatment of topics, build sustained focus, and develop your ability to engage with complex ideas. Online articles are useful for staying current, but books build the foundational knowledge that sets you apart in any field.

What should I read if I want to increase my earning potential?

Focus on non-fiction that builds practical skills: personal finance, business, negotiation, communication, leadership, and industry-specific knowledge. The wealthy read for self-education, not just entertainment. Start with books that teach you something you can apply immediately to your work or business.

Recommended Reading

If this article resonated with you, I highly recommend reading other articles on The Nkowa Blog for more insights.