Nigeria Population

Nigeria is an African country located on the Gulf of Guinea with over 205 million residents. It is the most populated country in Africa and the seventh most populated country in the world and is expected to have over 400 million residents by 2050. This diverse West African country is deeply multiethnic and has more than 520 spoken languages. Lagos, which was the former capital until it was moved to Abuja, is the country’s largest and most populated city and has been nicknamed “Africa’s Big Apple”. Nigeria has also been called the “Giant of Africa” due to its large population and economic power.

A melting pot of ethnicities and languages

Nigeria is home to over 250 ethnic groups and over 500 spoken languages. This accounts for the wide range of customs and traditions in the country that gives it impressive cultural diversity. The largest ethnic groups in the country are the Hausa, which 27% of the country identifies as. There is also the Yoruba and Igbo, which have 21% and 14% of the population, respectively. Other large Southeastern ethnicities include the Ibibio, the Efik, the Ijaw, and the Annang, while the Urhobo-Isoko, Edo, and Itsekiri live in the country’s Midwest. Because of the wide ranging backgrounds and languages, much business and communication commonly occur in English, though many people speak two or more languages. Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba are the most commonly spoken after English, and Nigerian Pidgin is widely used as well.

A developing nation

Even though Nigeria has one of the world’s highest economic growth rates, the country is still considered a developing nation and almost 90 million people—roughly half the country’s population—live under the international poverty line of $2 per day. It is estimated that six people fall into extreme poverty in Nigeria every minute. This puts Nigeria as having the highest rate of extreme poverty in the world.

Much of the country’s poverty issues can be attributed to political instability, including long-term ethnic conflict and civil unrest.

The lowest life expectancy in West Africa

According to the World Health Organization, Nigeria has the lowest life expectancy of any of the 16 countries in West Africa. Life expectancy is around 55 years of age for men and women in the country, with men living slightly shorter lives on average, reaching 54 years of age. Some of the leading causes of death include influenza and pneumonia, which cause around 300,000 deaths per year, followed by diarrhoeal diseases (186,218 deaths) and tuberculosis (175,124 deaths). Much of the country’s premature deaths could be avoided, however the extreme poverty rates and lack of access to basic necessities and healthcare make it difficult for people to avoid illness and to recover.

An extremely high birth rate

Because of its high birth rate of 37 births per 1,000 people, Nigeria’s population is a country of the young. The average age in Nigeria is 17 years old and 46% of the country is under the age of 15. Low levels of birth registration across the country make it difficult to track child health, however the infant mortality rate remained high, with 62 deaths per 1,000 live births.

Women in Nigeria also suffer from many health issues surrounding birth and pregnancy. While Nigeria only makes up about 2.4% of the world’s population, it contributes 10% of global deaths for mothers and has a maternal mortality of 576 per 100,000 births.

A religious country

Religion is a huge part of Nigeria’s identity and is split almost evenly down the middle, with 49% of the country identifying as Christian and 48% identifying as Muslim. While many of people intermingle these beliefs with indigenous religions, the divide has caused many instances of serious inter-religious conflicts.