Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of October 2, 2026
Who holds the health record in Nigeria?
In 2026, Nigeria scores 35 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record. It is tied for 121st of 198 countries and territories, and could rank anywhere from 95th to 156th allowing for scoring error, in the Weak band (25 to 44). Who holds the keys: doctors, hospitals and insurers. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 2, 2026.
Doctors, hospitals and insurers decide. Its strongest right, compared with the typical country, is rules for AI in your care (38 out of 100, against 30 for the typical country). The furthest behind is doctors see it when treating you (22 out of 100, against 33 to 34 for the typical country).
A modern data law on paper, but records stay inside each hospital and patients have no tool to see or steer who uses them.
Published · updated · this country's data as of October 2, 2026 · research tool, not legal advice
overall score · Weak band, 25 to 44
35/100
rank among 198 countries and territories; likely 95th to 156th, allowing for scoring error
In 2026, getting your full record scores 40 out of 100 in Nigeria; the typical country scores 40 to 45. Section 34 of the Data Protection Act 2023 gives a right to a copy in a common electronic format, but sets no day limit and lets providers pass on unreasonable costs. There is no national patient portal, so each hospital must be asked separately. Source: NDPC, July 1, 2023, and the other sources below.
Who controls health records in Nigeria?
In 2026, doctors, hospitals and insurers hold the keys to your health record in Nigeria. Control over who sees it scores 28 out of 100 in Nigeria; the typical country scores 30. The National Health Act requires written consent to disclose health information, but section 27 lets providers pass records to other providers without asking again. Patients may ask which recipients got their data, but no working opt-out or patient-visible log exists, so control sits with each facility. Source: Official Gazette, FAOLEX, 2014, and the other sources below.
How does Nigeria compare?
In 2026, Nigeria scores 35 out of 100, against 39 for the typical country. This brief compares it with Angola (35 out of 100), Burundi (35 out of 100) and Burkina Faso (35 out of 100). Source: the ranking of all 198 countries and territories.
Eight rights, compared with Angola, Burundi, Burkina Faso and the typical country
Scores out of 100, by right
Getting your full record20%
40
35 · 40 · 35
Control over who sees it20%
28
30 · 28 · 32
Privacy and security15%
45
52 · 45 · 48
One record across your care15%
28
22 · 30 · 25
Protection from sale and ads10%
42
50 · 40 · 45
Doctors see it when treating you10%
22
20 · 22 · 20
Your say over research use5%
50
50 · 50 · 49
Rules for AI in your care5%
38
28 · 20 · 30
Black dot: Nigeria. Hollow dots: Angola, Burundi, Burkina Faso (scores out of 100 on the right, same order). Gray line: the typical country of all 198. Overall: Nigeria 35 out of 100. Scores move in steps of about 5 points, so read a rank with its likely range.
What would Nigeria need to change to score higher?
Nigeria sits in Weak (25 to 44); Mixed starts at 45. Its two weakest rights, compared with the typical country and weighted by how much each counts, are one record across your care (28 out of 100, against 38 for the typical country) and doctors see it when treating you (22 out of 100, against 33 to 34 for the typical country). Our scoring rules give more points for:
One record across your care: Family doctors, hospitals, labs, pharmacies, insurers and public health all linked to one record that is used across the country.
Doctors see it when treating you: Doctors who treat you able to see your full record from other providers, with your consent and emergency rules in place.
Which laws give health record rights in Nigeria?
Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023: Health status is sensitive data; access, objection, 72-hour breach notice, fines of greater of N10 million or 2% revenue.
NDP Act General Application and Implementation Directive (GAID) 2025: Consent for marketing and sensitive data; portability; AI deployment duties under Article 43.
National Health Act, 2014: Record keeping, confidentiality, provider sharing, research authorisation, offences for unauthorised record access.
Doctors, waits and private care context, not part of the score
Doctors per 10,000
4.1 2024
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
11.5 2024
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
72.8% 2023
Record reaches private care?
unknown
Real cases
January 18, 2025 · Sahara Reporters (republishing a Daily Trust report) Patient paid repeatedly for the same tests because records did not follow her
July 23, 2026 · Punch · archived copy Teaching hospital says patient case files are still carried by hand during digitisation
Who to contact in Nigeria
Not legal advice. Laws, offices and websites can change, so check with the office itself before you rely on anything here.
For Nigeria, we list one official office to contact about your health record, as of :
See your record: ask the records office of your doctor, hospital or clinic
Privacy regulator:Nigeria Data Protection Commission
In 2026, Nigeria scored 35 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record, tied for 121st of 198 countries and territories (could be 95th to 156th), in the Weak band. Who holds the keys: doctors, hospitals and insurers. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 2, 2026, https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/nigeria/
The 17 sources for Nigeria
Each source appears once, under the first right it supports. Titles are shown as our research agents recorded them, usually in the page's own language; text in square brackets is our machine translation. Links were checked on the date shown.
Getting your full record (4 sources)
“Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023”
NDPC (law or regulation) · Title in English
Dated July 1, 2023 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Getting your full record; Control over who sees it; Privacy and security; Protection from sale and ads; Your say over research use
SuperTruth Inc. · 24 S. 24th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA · +1 215 918 4140 · supertruth.ai Something wrong? Tell us · Questions or a briefing: supertruth.ai/on-the-record#contact · Full index: healthrecordrights.com
OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (38 mostly high-income countries). DTI™: the Data Trust Index, which grades the evidence behind each score. SuperTruth makes it and publishes this index. Everything here comes from public information: laws, government and regulator pages, court decisions, published news, WHO, OECD and World Bank data. Full sources: https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/nigeria/#sources. SuperTruth built this index and sells health data verification products; no one paid to be included. Research tool, not legal advice. Our scores and our own words are CC BY 4.0; quoted law and source titles stay with their owners.
