The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced that a total of 2,243,816 candidates have registered for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The figures were disclosed in the Board’s latest bulletin signed by its Public Communication Advisor, Fabian Benjamin, as registration approaches its final deadline. The 2026 UTME is scheduled to hold nationwide from April 16 to April 25, 2026.
Top 10 States by UTME Registrations
1. Lagos State – 321,814
2. Kaduna State – 303,498
3. Federal Capital Territory (FCT-Abuja) – 302,963
4. Ogun State – 137,156
5. Oyo State – 122,662
6. Rivers State – 105,584
7. Kano State – 83,167
8. Delta State – 77,670
9. Ondo State – 66,270
10. Nasarawa State – 65,739
Registrations Across Other States
Kwara State – 64,988
Plateau State – 62,440
Benue State – 60,860
Edo State – 59,605
Enugu State – 50,305
Niger State – 47,679
Akwa Ibom State – 47,079
Kogi State – 46,783
Abia State – 44,394
Imo State – 42,170
Taraba State – 38,093
Katsina State – 37,973
Kebbi State – 36,533
Anambra State – 34,787
Cross River State – 34,605
Borno State – 33,483
Ekiti State – 31,643
Adamawa State – 31,321
Jigawa State – 28,166
Bauchi State – 27,963
Bayelsa State – 27,245
Gombe State – 23,012
Yobe State – 20,583
Sokoto State – 20,243
Ebonyi State – 19,662
Zamfara State – 14,841 (lowest)
Foreign Registrations
JAMB also recorded registrations from foreign countries:
Cote d’Ivoire – 32
Equatorial Guinea – 16
Burkina Faso – 14
United Kingdom – 12
Cameroon – 11
Saudi Arabia – 10
Benin Republic – 7
Ghana – 5
South Africa – 5
The Gambia – 3
The 2026 registration figure underscores the sustained demand for tertiary education across Nigeria. With over 2.24 million candidates set to sit the examination, the competition for admission into universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education is expected to be intense.
