| Population | 219,463,862 (July 2021 est.) note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected |
| Nationality | noun: Nigerian(s) adjective: Nigerian |
| Ethnic groups | Hausa 30%, Yoruba 15.5%, Igbo (Ibo) 15.2%, Fulani 6%, Tiv 2.4%, Kanuri/Beriberi 2.4%, Ibibio 1.8%, Ijaw/Izon 1.8%, other 24.7% (2018 est.) note: Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, is composed of more than 250 ethnic groups |
| Languages | English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani, over 500 additional indigenous languages |
| Religions | Muslim 53.5%, Roman Catholic 10.6%, other Christian 35.3%, other .6% (2018 est.) |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 41.7% (male 45,571,738/female 43,674,769) 15-24 years: 20.27% (male 22,022,660/female 21,358,753) 25-54 years: 30.6% (male 32,808,913/female 32,686,474) 55-64 years: 4.13% (male 4,327,847/female 4,514,264) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 3,329,083/female 3,733,801) (2020 est.) |
| Dependency ratios | total dependency ratio: 86 youth dependency ratio: 80.9 elderly dependency ratio: 5.1 potential support ratio: 19.6 (2020 est.) |
| Median age | total: 18.6 years male: 18.4 years female: 18.9 years (2020 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 2.53% (2021 est.) |
| Birth rate | 34.38 births/1,000 population (2021 est.) |
| Death rate | 8.89 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.) |
| Net migration rate | -0.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.) |
| Population distribution | largest population of any African nation; significant population clusters are scattered throughout the country, with the highest density areas being in the south and southwest as shown in this population distribution map |
| Urbanization | urban population: 52.7% of total population (2021) rate of urbanization: 3.92% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
| Major cities - population | 14.862 million Lagos, 4.103 million Kano, 3.649 million Ibadan, 3.464 million ABUJA (capital), 3.171 million Port Harcourt, 1.782 million Benin City (2021) |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-24 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 25-54 years: 1 male(s)/female 55-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2020 est.) |
| Mother's mean age at first birth | 20.4 years (2018 est.) note: median age at first birth among women 25-49 |
| Maternal mortality rate | 917 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 58.23 deaths/1,000 live births male: 63.67 deaths/1,000 live births female: 52.46 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 60.87 years male: 59.07 years female: 62.78 years (2021 est.) |
| Total fertility rate | 4.67 children born/woman (2021 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | 16.6% (2018) |
| Drinking water source | improved: urban: 92.6% of population rural: 63.6% of population total: 77.9% of population unimproved: urban: 7.4% of population rural: 36.4% of population total: 22.1% of population (2017 est.) |
| Health expenditures | 3.9% (2018) |
| Physicians density | 0.38 physicians/1,000 population (2018) |
| Sanitation facility access | improved: urban: 80.2% of population rural: 39.5% of population total: 59.7% of population unimproved: urban: 19.8% of population rural: 60.5% of population total: 40.3% of population (2017 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate | 1.3% (2020 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | 1.7 million (2020 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths | 49,000 (2020 est.) |
| Major infectious diseases | degree of risk: very high (2020) food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: malaria, dengue fever, and yellow fever water contact diseases: leptospirosis and schistosomiasis animal contact diseases: rabies respiratory diseases: meningococcal meningitis aerosolized dust or soil contact diseases: Lassa fever note: on 7 October 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a Travel Health Notice for a Yellow Fever outbreak in Nigeria; a large, ongoing outbreak of yellow fever in Nigeria began in September 2017; the outbreak is now spread throughout the country with the Nigerian Ministry of Health reporting cases of the disease in all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory; the CDC recommends travelers going to Nigeria should receive vaccination against yellow fever at least 10 days before travel and should take steps to prevent mosquito bites while there; those never vaccinated against yellow fever should avoid travel to Nigeria during the outbreak note: widespread ongoing transmission of a respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is occurring throughout Nigeria; as of 19 July 2021, Nigeria has reported a total of 169,678 cases of COVID-19 or 82.31 cumulative cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population with 1.03 cumulative death per 100,000 population; as of 19 July 2021, 1.23% of the population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine |
| Obesity - adult prevalence rate | 8.9% (2016) |
| Food insecurity | widespread lack of access: due to persistent civil conflict in the northern areas - according to the latest analysis, about 12.8 million people are assessed to be in need of humanitarian assistance in the June-August 2021 period as a result of worsening conflict that is driving new population displacements; over 2.8 million people are estimated to be internally displaced in northeastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, due to communal clashes in northwestern/northcentral zones and natural disasters; the areas inaccessible to humanitarian interventions are facing the worst food insecurity conditions (2021) |
| Children under the age of 5 years underweight | 18.4% (2019/20) |
| Education expenditures | NA |
| Demographic profile | Nigeria’s population is projected to grow from more than 186 million people in 2016 to 392 million in 2050, becoming the world’s fourth most populous country. Nigeria’s sustained high population growth rate will continue for the foreseeable future because of population momentum and its high birth rate. 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. Nigeria needs to harness the potential of its burgeoning youth population in order to boost economic development, reduce widespread poverty, and channel large numbers of unemployed youth into productive activities and away from ongoing religious and ethnic violence. While most movement of Nigerians is internal, significant emigration regionally and to the West provides an outlet for Nigerians looking for economic opportunities, seeking asylum, and increasingly pursuing higher education. Immigration largely of West Africans continues to be insufficient to offset emigration and the loss of highly skilled workers. Nigeria also is a major source, transit, and destination country for forced labor and sex trafficking. |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 62% male: 71.3% female: 52.7% (2018) |
| School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) | total: 9 years male: 9 years female: 8 years (2011) |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
