The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has released the statistical breakdown of the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for School Candidates, revealing that over 1.2 million candidates obtained the benchmark requirement of five credits, including English Language and Mathematics.
According to the examination body, the examination was conducted across Nigeria, the Republic of Benin, Côte d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea, with nearly two million candidates participating.
Below are 10 key highlights from the released statistics.
1. Nearly Two Million Candidates Registered
WAEC disclosed that a total of 1,959,668 candidates from 24,207 secondary schools registered for the 2026 WASSCE across the four participating countries.
The figure underscores the continued growth in participation in one of West Africa’s largest secondary school examinations.
2. More Than 1.95 Million Candidates Sat the Examination
Out of those who registered, 1,950,726 candidates eventually sat for the examination, indicating a high turnout rate among registered candidates.
3. Over 1.2 Million Candidates Met the University Admission Benchmark
The Council announced that 1,200,514 candidates, representing 61.54 per cent of those who sat the examination, obtained credits and above in at least five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.
This category is widely regarded as the minimum academic requirement for admission into many tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
4. More Than 1.68 Million Obtained Five Credits Regardless of English and Mathematics
WAEC further revealed that 1,687,378 candidates, representing 86.50 per cent, secured credits and above in at least five subjects, whether or not they included English Language and Mathematics.
The figure indicates that a significant proportion of candidates recorded commendable performances across multiple subjects.
5. Performance Declined Slightly Compared to 2025
According to WAEC, the percentage of candidates who obtained five credits, including English Language and Mathematics, declined by 1.42 percentage points when compared with the performance recorded in the 2025 examination.
6. Over 94 Per Cent of Results Have Been Released
The examination body stated that 1,834,695 candidates, representing 94.05 per cent, have had their results fully processed and released.
Candidates whose results have been released can proceed to check their performance through WAEC’s official result-checking platforms.
7. Nearly 116,000 Results Are Still Being Processed
WAEC disclosed that the results of 116,031 candidates, representing 5.95 per cent of candidates who sat the examination, are still being processed.
The Council indicated that these results will be released after the completion of the necessary processing procedures.
8. Examination Covered Four West African Countries
The 2026 WASSCE for School Candidates was conducted across:
Nigeria
Republic of Benin
Côte d’Ivoire
Equatorial Guinea
This reflects WAEC’s continued role in administering standardised secondary school examinations across the West African sub-region.
9. WAEC Continues Large-Scale Regional Assessment
With more than 24,000 participating schools and nearly two million candidates, the 2026 examination once again ranks among the largest coordinated secondary school assessments on the African continent.
10. Candidates Await Further Updates
WAEC has advised candidates whose results are still being processed to remain patient while the exercise is completed. The Council is expected to provide further updates regarding the outstanding results and other post-examination activities in due course.
The release of the 2026 WASSCE statistics provides an overview of candidates’ performance across participating countries and offers insight into the overall outcome of this year’s examination. While the majority of candidates have already received their results, thousands are expected to access theirs once the ongoing processing exercise is concluded.
