💡 Why it matters: Governments collect huge amounts of data on health, schools, taxes and roads, and more agencies now hire analysts to turn it into decisions that save money and help people.
🌍 Around the world
- United States: Jobs for data scientists are projected to grow 35% from 2025 to 2035, much faster than average (US Bureau of Labor Statistics).
💰 What it can pay
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Starting out
- ₦1.8M – ₦4M
- Mid-career
- ₦4M – ₦9M
- Senior
- ₦9M – ₦20M
≈ ₦333k – ₦750k a month mid-career. Indicative estimate by Incusim.
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Closest UK profile: Data analyst-statistician. Typical starter to experienced salary. National Careers Service, 2026
🇺🇸 United States
Closest US category: Data scientists. Median pay; low and high are the 10th and 90th percentiles. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025
🇨🇦 Canada
Data analyst (informatics and systems). Hourly wage low/median/high x 2,080 hours. Job Bank (Government of Canada), 2023-2024
Yearly pay before tax. UK, US and Canada figures come from the official sources named on each card. Nigeria has no official salary survey, so those are our indicative estimates. Real pay depends on the employer, the place, your skills and experience.
🛠️ What you actually do
- Clean and organise data from many government offices
- Build charts and dashboards for decision makers
- Find patterns, such as which areas need more clinics
- Check that programmes are reaching the right people
- Explain findings in simple language
⚡ Skills you'll need
- Data analysis
- Spreadsheet and coding skills
- Critical thinking
- Communication
- Attention to detail
Get ready at school
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Online courses in data analysis with Excel, SQL and Python, plus a portfolio of projects
- Complete NYSC (National Youth Service Corps) in a planning or statistics office
- Join the National Bureau of Statistics or a state planning unit after a numbers-based degree
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- Join a government department or the Office for National Statistics as an analyst
- Build a portfolio with online SQL and Python courses
🇺🇸 United States
- Online courses in SQL and Python plus a project portfolio
- Apply to federal, state or city government analyst jobs
🇨🇦 Canada
- Co-op placements in government departments
- Join Statistics Canada or a provincial or city government as an analyst
🗺️ Your path to this career
- 1Be strong in Maths and Economics at school
- 2Study Statistics, Computer Science or Economics
- 3Learn Excel, SQL, Python and chart tools
- 4Gain experience in a planning or statistics office, including any required national service
- 5Join a government agency or consulting firm serving government
⏰ A day in the life
You open a spreadsheet of school enrolment from every district in the region and clean the messy entries. After making a map showing where children are missing out, you present it to the education team.