10th U6+ Consortium of African Universities International Conference

Since the United Nations recommendation in 1993 to introduce domestic production into systems of national accounts, the market value of the unpaid care economy has been estimated for a wide range of countries around the world. These studies recognize the economic contribution of unpaid household work, this paper examines the gender patterns of time allocation over SNA productive activity, Non- SNA productive activity, Learning and other non- productive activity The 2024 Time Use survey in Nigeria’s four geopolitical zones included 3,600 adults aged 15–65 and above, time diary based on every one-hour interval over 24 hours of a single day. The estimates show that, holding constant individual characteristics and regional effects, , on average, women dedicate five times more time to these unpaid responsibilities than men. The gender disparity is pronounced across both urban and rural areas. Rural women spend the highest proportion of time (24%) on unpaid care work, followed by urban women (20%). In contrast, urban men spend the least amount of time (4.3%), closely followed by rural men (3.7%). These differences highlight deeply rooted gender roles and unequal distribution of unpaid work within households. The monetary value of unpaid care work is estimated using the input approach, aggregated across all 3600 respondents, the total weekly value amounts to ₦50.4 million, which yields an annual estimate of ₦2.62 billion, when sample size is scaled to Nigeria’s estimated 50 million working age men and women. This represents about 14 percent of Nigeria’s 2024 nominal GDP. Such an estimate aligns with global evidence suggesting that unpaid care and domestic work contributes between 10 and 40 percent of GDP. Overall, the data shows significant gender inequalities in the division of labour, with men spending more time in employment and women bearing a disproportionate share of unpaid domestic and caregiving responsibilities. The study recommends that recognizing and valuing unpaid care work is essential for achieving gender equality, inclusive growth, and sustainable development in Nigeria.