Demographics of Nigeria
is one of the most densely populated countries in Africa, with approximately 200 million people in an area of, and is also the country with the largest population in Africa and the seventh largest population in the world. Approximately 50% of Nigerians are urban dwellers, with the rate of urbanization being estimated at 4.3%. Nigeria is home to over 250 ethnic groups, with over 500 languages, and the variety of customs, and traditions among them gives the country great cultural diversity. The three largest ethnic groups are the Hausa 27.4% of the population; along with the Yoruba 21% and Igbo 22.1%. The Efik, Ibibio, Annang, and Ijaw constitute other Southeastern populations. The Urhobo-Isoko, Edo and Itsekiri constitute Nigerian's Midwest.
Most of the population is a young population, with 42.54% between the ages of 0–14. There is also a very high dependency ratio of the country at 88.2 dependants per 100 non-dependants.
Three of the main religious groups are Muslim at 45%, Christian at 45% and other indigenous beliefs at 10%. The predominantly Christian Igbo are found in the southeast. Roman Catholicism is the largest Christian denomination in Igboland, but Anglicanism is also strong, as are Pentecostal and other Evangelical denominations.
Persons of different ethnic backgrounds most commonly communicate in English, although knowledge of two or more Nigerian languages is widespread. Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba are the most widely used Nigerian languages. Nigerian Pidgin is used widely as an unofficial medium of communication especially in the Nigerian cities of Warri, Sapele, Ughelli, Benin and Port Harcourt.
Population
Nigeria's population has been increasing rapidly for at least the last 5 decades due to very high birth rates, quadrupling its population during this time. Growth was fastest in the 1980s, after child mortality had dropped rapidly, and has slowed slightly since then as the birth rate has declined slightly. According to the 2017 revision of the World Population Prospects the total population was 185,989,640 in 2016, compared to only 37,860,000 in 1950. The proportion of children under the age of 15 in 2010 was 44.0%, 53.2% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 2.7% was 65 years or older. There is a large population momentum, with 3.2 percent growth rate leading to the projected population.Abuja has not successfully implemented family planning programs to reduce and space births because of a lack of political will, government financing, and the availability and affordability of services and products, as well as a cultural preference for large families. Increased educational attainment, especially among women, and improvements in health care are needed to encourage and to better enable parents to opt for smaller families.
The former Nigeria's Chairman of National Population Commission, Eze Duruiheoma, delivering Nigeria's statement in New York on Sustainable Cities, Human Mobility and International Migration in the 51st Session of Commission on Population and Development, said that "Nigeria remains the most populous in Africa, the seventh globally with an estimated population of over 198 million. The recent World Population Prospects predicts that by 2050, Nigeria will become the third most populated country in the world. Over the last 50 years, the Nigeria's urban population has grown at an average annual growth rate of more than 6.5 per cent without commensurate increase in social amenities and infrastructure." He also stated that the population "grew substantially from 17.3 in 1967 to 49.4 per cent in 2017."
| Total population | Population aged 0–14 | Population aged 15–64 | Population aged 65+ | |
| 1950 | 37 860 000 | 41.7 | 55.3 | 3.0 |
| 1955 | 41 122 000 | 41.6 | 55.6 | 2.8 |
| 1960 | 45 212 000 | 41.6 | 55.6 | 2.8 |
| 1965 | 50 239 000 | 41.9 | 55.2 | 2.9 |
| 1970 | 56 132 000 | 42.6 | 54.6 | 2.8 |
| 1975 | 63 566 000 | 43.4 | 53.8 | 2.8 |
| 1980 | 73 698 000 | 44.0 | 53.2 | 2.8 |
| 1985 | 83 902 000 | 45.0 | 52.2 | 2.8 |
| 1990 | 95 617 000 | 44.9 | 52.3 | 2.9 |
| 1995 | 108 425 000 | 44.1 | 53.0 | 2.9 |
| 2000 | 122 877 000 | 43.5 | 53.7 | 2.8 |
| 2005 | 139 586 000 | 43.6 | 53.7 | 2.7 |
| 2010 | 159 708 000 | 44.0 | 53.2 | 2.7 |
Fertility and births
and Crude Birth Rate :| Year | CBR | TFR | CBR | TFR | CBR | TFR |
| 1960 | 47 | 6.35 | ||||
| 1965–66 | 45.9 | 6.44 | ||||
| 1967–69 | 46.1 | 6.42 | ||||
| 1970 | 46.3 | 6.47 | ||||
| 1971–73 | 46.7 | 6.57 | ||||
| 1975 | 47.2 | 6.71 | ||||
| 1978–82 | 47 | 6.78 | ||||
| 1978–80 | 47 | 6.76 | ||||
| 1981–82 | 46.68 | 6.78 | ||||
| 1983–86 | 45.67 | 6.7 | ||||
| 1987–90 | 45.9 | 6.57 | ||||
| 1990 | 44.2 | 6.49 | 34 | 5.033 | 40 | 6.326 |
| 1999 | 43.2 | 6.13 | 35.6 | 4.50 | 38.5 | 5.44 |
| 2003 | 42.8 | 6.04 | 36.3 | 4.9 | 44.5 | 6.1 |
| 2004–07 | 42.4 | 5.97 | ||||
| 2008 | 41.8 | 5.9 | 36.8 | 4.7 | 42.5 | 6.3 |
| 2013 | 40,2 | 5.5 | 35 | 4.7 | 42 | 6.2 |
| 2014–15 | 39.5 | 5.57 | ||||
| 2015–18 | 38 | 5.3 | 34 | 4.5 | 42 | 5.9 |
| Year | TFR |
| 1981–1982 | 6,8 |
| 1990 | 6,4 |
| 2003 | 6,0 |
| 2008 | 5,9 |
| 2013 | 5,7 |
| 2015-18 | 5,3 |
| Variable | TFR | TFR | TFR | TFR |
| Nigeria | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.5 | 5.3 |
| Urban | 4.9 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.5 |
| Rural | 6.1 | 6.3 | 6.2 | 5.9 |
| Region – North Central | 5.7 | 5.4 | 5.3 | 5.0 |
| Region – North East | 7.0 | 7.2 | 6.3 | 6.1 |
| Region – North West | 6.7 | 7.3 | 6.7 | 6.6 |
| Region – South East | 4.1 | 4.8 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| Region – South South | 4.6 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 4.0 |
| Region – South West | 4.1 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 3.9 |
Fertility data as of 2013 :
| State | Total fertility rate | Percentage of women age 15–49 currently pregnant | Mean number of children ever born to women age 40–49 |
| Abuja | 8.5 | 8.3 | 4.7 |
| Benue | 5.2 | 13.0 | 6.8 |
| Kogi | 4.2 | 9.4 | 5.7 |
| Kwara | 5.1 | 7.2 | 5.2 |
| Nasarawa | 5.4 | 10.8 | 5.8 |
| Niger | 6.1 | 14.8 | 5.8 |
| Plateau | 5.4 | 11.2 | 5.6 |
| Adamawa | 5.8 | 15.6 | 6.7 |
| Bauchi | 8.1 | 16.9 | 8.4 |
| Borno | 4.7 | 12.7 | 5.2 |
| Gombe | 7.0 | 14.3 | 7.9 |
| Taraba | 6.0 | 10.6 | 7.1 |
| Yobe | 6.6 | 13.4 | 7.4 |
| Jigawa | 7.6 | 15.1 | 7.6 |
| Kaduna | 4.1 | 21.0 | 5.7 |
| Kano | 6.8 | 12.6 | 7.7 |
| Katsina | 7.4 | 17.3 | 8.4 |
| Kebbi | 6.7 | 16.9 | 8.2 |
| Sokoto | 7.0 | 14.1 | 7.3 |
| Zamfara | 8.4 | 17.0 | 8.7 |
| Abia | 4.2 | 7.3 | 5.0 |
| Anambra | 4.2 | 6.0 | 4.7 |
| Ebonyi | 5.3 | 9.1 | 7.1 |
| Enugu | 4.8 | 8.4 | 5.9 |
| Imo | 4.8 | 8.3 | 5.0 |
| Akwa Ibom | 3.9 | 5.3 | 5.4 |
| Bayelsa | 4.5 | 11.3 | 6.1 |
| Cross River | 5.4 | 9.1 | 5.5 |
| Delta | 4.1 | 10.6 | 5.6 |
| Edo | 4.4 | 6.3 | 5.7 |
| Rivers | 3.8 | 9.5 | 4.9 |
| Ekiti | 4.3 | 7.0 | 5.2 |
| Lagos | 4.1 | 7.2 | 4.3 |
| Ogun | 5.4 | 10.6 | 4.9 |
| Ondo | 5.2 | 9.1 | 5.2 |
| Osun | 4.1 | 6.8 | 4.3 |
| Oyo | 4.5 | 11.9 | 5.1 |
Source: Demographic and Health Surveys
Fertility rate by state
∗ MICS surveys[Contraceptive prevalence]
Contraceptive prevalence, any methods| Year | 1982 | 1990 | 1994 | 1999 | 2003 | 2007 | 2008 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2016 | 2017 |
| % of women ages 15–49 | 6.8 % | 6.0 % | 13.4 % | 15.3 % | 12.6 % | 14.7 % | 14.6 % | 14.1 % | 13.5 % | 15.1 % | 20.4 % | 13.4 % |
∗ UNICEFs State of the Worlds Children and Child info, United Nations Population Divisions World Contraceptive Use, household surveys including Demographic and Health Surveys and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys.
Population projections
The total population in sub-Saharan Africa is projected to increase to almost one billion people, making it the most populated region outside of South-Central Asia. According to the United Nations, the population of Nigeria will reach 411 million by 2050. Nigeria might then be the 3rd most populous country in the world. In 2100, the population of Nigeria may reach 794 million.While the overall population is expected to increase, the growth rate is estimated to decrease from 1.2 percent per year in 2010 to 0.4 percent per year in 2050. The birth rate is also projected to decrease from 20.7 to 13.7, while the death rate is projected to increase from 8.5 in 2010 to 9.8 in 2050. Life expectancy is all expected to increase from 67.0 years in 2010 to 75.2 years in 2050. By 2050, 69.6% of the population is estimated to be living in urban areas compared to 50.6% in 2010.Vital statistics
Registration of vital events in Nigeria is not complete. The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates.Life expectancy at birth
Life expectancy from 1950 to 2015 :| Period | Life expectancy in Years |
| 1950–1955 | 33.81 |
| 1955–1960 | 35.80 |
| 1960–1965 | 38.13 |
| 1965–1970 | 39.97 |
| 1970–1975 | 42.03 |
| 1975–1980 | 44.29 |
| 1980–1985 | 46.02 |
| 1985–1990 | 45.95 |
| 1990–1995 | 45.87 |
| 1995–2000 | 46.00 |
| 2000–2005 | 46.94 |
| 2005–2010 | 49.75 |
| 2010–2015 | 51.88 |
Other demographic statistics
The following demographic statistics of Nigeria in 2019 are from the World Population Review.- One birth every 4 seconds
- One death every 14 seconds
- One net migrant every 9 minutes
- Net gain of one person every 6 seconds
Population
Population distribution
Nigeria is Africa's most populous country. Significant population clusters are scattered throughout the country, with the highest density areas being in the south and southwest.Age structure
Median age
Birth rate
Death rate
[Total fertility rate]
Population growth rate
Mother's mean age at first birth
Contraceptive prevalence rate">Prevalence of birth control">Contraceptive prevalence rate
Net migration rate
-0.2 migrant/1,000 population Country comparison to the world: 106th-0.22 migrant/1,000 population
[Dependency ratio]s
Urbanization
Life expectancy at birth
HIV/AIDS
adult prevalence rate2.8%
people living with HIV/AIDS
2.6 million
3.3 million
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and writeUnemployment, youth ages 15–24
Total and percent distribution of population by single year of age (Census 2006)
| Age | Population | Percent |
| Total | 140.431.790 | 100 |
| 0–4 | 22.594.967 | 16.09 |
| 0 | 3.004.421 | |
| 1 | 4.766.927 | |
| 2 | 4.874.939 | |
| 3 | 4.823.910 | |
| 4 | 5.124.770 | |
| 5–9 | 20.005.380 | 14.25 |
| 5 | 4.578.252 | |
| 6 | 4.239.954 | |
| 7 | 3.641.713 | |
| 8 | 4.274.377 | |
| 9 | 3.271.084 | |
| 10–14 | 16.135.950 | 11.49 |
| 10 | 4.782.673 | |
| 11 | 2.103.323 | |
| 12 | 3.690.772 | |
| 13 | 2.731.481 | |
| 14 | 2.827.701 | |
| 15–19 | 14.899.419 | 10.61 |
| 15 | 4.000.138 | |
| 16 | 2.646.846 | |
| 17 | 2.387.754 | |
| 18 | 3.777.608 | |
| 19 | 2.087.073 | |
| 20–24 | 13.435.079 | 9.57 |
| 20 | 5.825.512 | |
| 21 | 1.692.905 | |
| 22 | 2.372.385 | |
| 23 | 1.878.601 | |
| 24 | 1.665.676 | |
| 25–29 | 12.211.426 | 8.70 |
| 25 | 4.950.958 | |
| 26 | 1.685.645 | |
| 27 | 1.891.707 | |
| 28 | 2.348.975 | |
| 29 | 1.334.141 | |
| 30–34 | 9.467.538 | 6.74 |
| 30 | 5.538.220 | |
| 31 | 807.082 | |
| 32 | 1.561.540 | |
| 33 | 817.720 | |
| 34 | 742.976 | |
| 35–39 | 7.331.755 | 5.22 |
| 35 | 3.538.869 | |
| 36 | 894.320 | |
| 37 | 878.533 | |
| 38 | 1.255.414 | |
| 39 | 764.619 | |
| 40–44 | 6.456.470 | 4.60 |
| 40 | 4.156.871 | |
| 41 | 486.496 | |
| 42 | 918.443 | |
| 43 | 536.525 | |
| 44 | 358.135 | |
| 45–49 | 4.591.293 | 3.27 |
| 45 | 2.359.627 | |
| 46 | 517.645 | |
| 47 | 503.723 | |
| 48 | 746.592 | |
| 49 | 463.706 | |
| 50–54 | 4.249.219 | 3.03 |
| 50 | 2.862.363 | |
| 51 | 290.004 | |
| 52 | 534.394 | |
| 53 | 281.811 | |
| 54 | 280.647 | |
| 55–59 | 2.066.247 | 1.47 |
| 55 | 967.161 | |
| 56 | 320.949 | |
| 57 | 251.622 | |
| 58 | 324.990 | |
| 59 | 201.525 | |
| 60–64 | 2.450.286 | 1.74 |
| 60 | 1.791.258 | |
| 61 | 150.477 | |
| 62 | 245.662 | |
| 63 | 140.134 | |
| 64 | 122.755 | |
| 65–69 | 1.151.048 | 0.82 |
| 65 | 645.459 | |
| 66 | 102.029 | |
| 67 | 138.709 | |
| 68 | 171.016 | |
| 69 | 93.835 | |
| 70–74 | 1.264.937 | 0.95 |
| 70 | 1.002.176 | |
| 71 | 76.808 | |
| 72 | 130.975 | |
| 73 | 65.660 | |
| 74 | 54.978 | |
| 75–79 | 579.838 | 0.41 |
| 75 | 336.831 | |
| 76 | 62.741 | |
| 77 | 53.839 | |
| 78 | 84.521 | |
| 79 | 41.906 | |
| 80–84 | 760.053 | 0.54 |
| 80 | 586.064 | |
| 81 | 43.174 | |
| 82 | 65.942 | |
| 83 | 31.895 | |
| 84 | 32.978 | |
| 85+ | 715.225 | 0.51 |
| Age group | Population | Male | Female | Percent |
| 0–14 | 58.736.297 | 30.462.148 | 28.274.149 | 41.83 |
| 15–64 | 77.158.732 | 38.348.799 | 38.809.933 | 54.94 |
| 65+ | 4.536.761 | 2.534.541 | 2.002.220 | 3.23 |
| Number of children 0–14 | Number of women 15–49 | Proportion |
| 58.736.297 | 34.961.107 | 1.68 |
Structure of the population :
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
| 0–4 | 17.4 | 16.7 | 17.1 |
| 5–9 | 16.8 | 15.9 | 16.3 |
| 10–14 | 12.7 | 11.9 | 12.3 |
| 15–19 | 8.6 | 9.0 | 8.8 |
| 20–24 | 6.7 | 7.8 | 7.2 |
| 25–29 | 6.6 | 8.3 | 7.4 |
| 30–34 | 5,9 | 6,2 | 6,1 |
| 35–39 | 5,2 | 5,4 | 5,3 |
| 40–44 | 4,3 | 4,0 | 4,2 |
| 45–49 | 3,9 | 3,7 | 3,8 |
| 50–54 | 2,6 | 3,3 | 2,9 |
| 55–59 | 2,5 | 2,3 | 2,4 |
| 60–64 | 2,3 | 2,0 | 2,1 |
| 65–69 | 1,5 | 1,2 | 1,3 |
| 70–74 | 1,3 | 1,0 | 1,2 |
| 75–79 | 0,7 | 0,5 | 0,6 |
| 80+ | 1,0 | 0,8 | 0,9 |
Emigration
Today millions of ethnic Nigerians live abroad, the largest communities can be found in the United Kingdom and the United States, other countries that followed closely are South Africa, Gambia, and Canada respectively. There are also large groups in Ireland, Portugal and many other countries.Inspiration for emigration is based heavily on socio-economical issues such as warfare, insecurity, economical instability and civil unrest. Between 1400–1900, of 1.4 million of 2 million emigrants were slaves sent to the Americas. This is due to the fact that the land now known as Nigeria was a central point for 4 slave trades during the 19th century. Though bondage represented a great deal, an estimated 30,000 Nigerian inhabitants would relocate to Kano City and Gambia to take advantage of financial opportunities afforded by fertile land and available natural resources. What's more, the presence of gold mines and rail lines along the Gold Coast, present-day Ghana, attracted an estimated 6,500 Nigerian citizens to attain financial gain and opportunity. The population of Nigerians in Ghana rose to roughly 149,000 before the 1969 alien expulsion order would displace nearly the entire population to surrounding countries.
Religion
Nigeria is nearly equally divided between Christianity and Islam. The majority of Nigerian Muslims are Sunni and are concentrated in the northern, central and south-western zones of the country, while Christians dominate in some central states, and the south-east and south-south regions. Other religions practiced in Nigeria include African Traditional Religion, Hinduism, Bahai, Judaism, The Grail Movement, and the Reformed Ògbóni Fraternity, one of the traditional socio-religious institutions of the Yorùbá people and their Òrìṣà religion known as Ẹ̀sìn Òrìṣà Ìbílẹ̀ in the Yorùbá language.According to a 2009 Pew survey, 45% of Nigeria's population were Muslims. A later Pew study in 2011 calculated that Christians now formed 56.8% of the population in Nigeria, while Muslims comprised 41.1%. Adherents of other religions make up 1.4% of the population.
The shift of population balance between Muslims and Christians is a result of northern and southern Nigeria being in different stages of demographic transition. The Muslim-dominated north is in an earlier stage of the demographic transition with much higher fertility rates than the south, whose split Christian/Muslim population is further along in the transition, and whose fertility rates are declining. Decreasing fertility can be linked to more access to education, use of contraceptives, and differing beliefs regarding family planning.
The 1999 introduction of Sharia Law in twelve northern Nigerian states led to massive violence and unrest and caused an ethnic and religious rift between Sharia and Non-Sharia states, a divide that has deepened with time.
Crime
Nigeria is home to a substantial network of organized crime, active especially in drug trafficking.Nigerian criminal groups are heavily involved in drug trafficking, shipping heroin from Asian countries to Europe and America; and cocaine from South America to Europe and South Africa.
The various Nigerian Confraternities or "campus cults" are active in both organized crime and in political violence as well as providing a network of corruption within Nigeria. As confraternities have extensive connections with political and military figures, they offer excellent alumni networking opportunities. The Supreme Vikings Confraternity, for example, boasts that twelve members of the Rivers State House of Assembly are cult members.
On lower levels of society, there are the "area boys", these are organized gangs mostly active in Lagos who specialize in mugging and small-scale drug dealing. According to official statistics, gang violence in Lagos resulted in 273 civilians and 84 policemen killed in the period of August 2000 to May 2001.
"The result of factors such as endemic local corruption, which facilitates illicit trafficking; the Biafra civil war, which contributed to a proliferation of firearms; the oil boom of the 1970s, which led to the embezzlement of public funds; and the economic crisis of the 1980s, which was accompanied by a rise in robberies. The expansion of the Nigerian diaspora and organized crime went hand in hand. Global migration boosted prostitution, drug trafficking and fraud, the three main activities of Nigerian syndicates. The smuggling of Nigerian sex workers became a whole industry that now extends from Switzerland to France and Italy, and has even reached the Prudish Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from which 1,000 women are said to be deported every month by the authorities."
The high crime rate among Nigerian migrants also leads to stereotyping Nigerians as criminals; thus, in Cameroon, Nigerian migrants are perceived collectively by the inhabitants of Cameroon as likely to be oil smugglers or dealers in stolen cars. In the Netherlands, the debate on Nigerian crime reached an intensity described as a "moral panic" by one scholar. In Switzerland, the crime rate of Nigerian young males was reported as 620% that of Swiss males in same age group, the second highest crime rate of any nationality, just below that of Angolan nationals.
Nigeria is also pervaded by political corruption. It is ranked 136 out of 168 countries in Transparency International's 2015 Corruption Perceptions Index.
Additional sources
- Demographic Dividend Investing in Human Capital.. Retrieved March 15, 2018, from http://www.demographicdividend.org/country_highlights/nigeria/
- Demographic dynamics and development in Nigeria – ProQuest.. Retrieved March 15, 2018, from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1706105013
- Dyson, T.. Population and Development: The Demographic Transition. London, UNITED KINGDOM: Zed Books. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/cudenver/detail.action?docID=619255
- Omoju, O. E., & Abraham, T. W.. Youth bulge and demographic dividend in Nigeria. Etude de La Population Africaine; Johannesburg, 27, 352–360.
- Reed, H. E., & Mberu, B. U.. Capitalizing on Nigeria's demographic dividend: reaping the benefits and diminishing the burdens. Etude de La
- Population Africaine; Johannesburg, 27, 319–330.
- The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency.. Retrieved April 10, 2018, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ni.html