Demographics of Nigeria

This article is about the demographic features of the population of Nigeria, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

The most populous country in Africa, Nigeria accounts for approximately one sixth of the African population (or one fifth of the Sub-Saharan African population).

Approximately 50% of Nigerians are urban dwellers. At least 24 cities have populations of more than 100,000. The variety of customs, languages, and traditions among Nigeria's 389 ethnic groups gives the country a cultural diversity. Census figures are used to determine regional funding and representation of ethnic and religious groups in government service. This provides an incentive for inflating local populations. On the other hand, some academics believe the figures given below by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) are a serious underestimate.

Professor JG Ottong, a social scientist at the University of Calabar, explained that population has been a sensitive and controversial issue "because of its implications for shaping regional, state and ethnic relations and balance of power". In the past, census figures were believed to have been manipulated for political advantage.^[1]

The most numerous ethnic groups in the northern two-thirds of the country are the Hausa and the Fulbe/Fulani, the overwhelming majority of whom are Muslim. Other major ethnic groups of the north are the Nupe, Tiv, and Kanuri. The Yoruba people are the overwhelming majority in the southwest, as well as parts of the north-central region. Over half of the Yorubas are Christian and about 40% are Muslim, while the remainder hold traditional Yoruba views. The predominantly Christian Igbo are to be found in the central parts of the southeast. Roman Catholicism is the largest Christian denomination, but Anglicanism is also strong, as are Pentecostal and other Evangelical denominations. The Efik, Ibibio, Annang, and Ijaw constitute other southeastern populations.

Persons of different language backgrounds most commonly communicate in English, although knowledge of two or more Nigerian languages is widespread. Hausa, Yoruba, and Igbo are the most widely used native Nigerian languages.

Population

Total population

Demographics of Nigeria, data of FAO, year 2005; number of permanent inhabitants in thousands.

174,507,539 (July 2013 est.) (CIA World Factbook)
162,471,000 (July 2011 United Nations est.)

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 2012 revision of the World Population Prospects the total population was 159,708,000 in 2010, compared to only 37,860,000 in 1950. The proportion of children below 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.^[2]

Total and percent distribution of population by single year of age (Census 2006)

^[3]

Structure of the population (DHS 2013) (males 87 034, females 89 529 = 176 574):

Fertility and births

Total Fertility Rate (TFR)(Wanted TFR) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):^{[4][5] [6]}

Source: Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS)^[7]

Population projections

According to the United Nations, the population of Nigeria will reach 391 million by 2050. Nigeria will then be the 4rd most populous country in the world. In 2100, the population of Nigeria will reach 545 million.^[8]

Vital statistics

Registration of vital events is in Nigeria not complete. The Population Departement of the United Nations prepared the following estimates. ^[2]

CIA World Factbook Population Statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.^[9]

Population: 174,507,539 (July 2013 est.) 178.5 million (2014 est.) ^[11]

Age structure:
0-14 years: 43.8% (male 39,127,615/female 37,334,281)
15-24 years: 19.3% (male 17,201,067/female 16,451,357)
25-54 years: 30.1% (male 25,842,967/female 26,699,432)
55-64 years: 3.8% (male 3,016,896/female 3,603,048)
65 years and over: 3% (male 2,390,154/female 2,840,722) (2013 est.)

Median age:
total: 17.9 years
male: 17.4 years
female: 18.4 years (2013 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.54% (2013 est.)

Birth rate: 38.78 births/1,000 population (2013 est.)

Death rate: 13.2 deaths/1,000 population (2013 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2013 est.)

Urbanization: urban population: 50% of total population (2010)
rate of urbanization: 3.5% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
total population: 51.56 years
male: 51.58 years
female: 51.55 years (2000 est.)

total population: 46.94 years
male: 46.16 years
female: 47.76 years (2009 est.)

total population: 52.05 years
male: 48.95 years
female: 55.33 years (2012 est.)

male: 52 years
female: 53 years (2014 est.) ^[11]

HIV/AIDS adult prevalence rate
3.1% (2007 est.)
3.6% (2009 est.)

people living with HIV/AIDS
2.6 million (2007 est.)
3.3 million (2009 est.)

Education and literacy

• Definition: Entire population of Nigeria of all ages, even at birth, who can read and write in any language.
• Total population: 78.6%
• Male: 84.35%
• Female: 72.65% (all: National Bureau of Statistics, 2010 National Literacy Survey)^[12]

Emigration

Today millions of ethnic Nigerians live abroad, the largest communities can be found in the United Kingdom (500,000-3,000,000)^[13] and the United States (600,000-1,000,000 Nigerians), other countries that followed closely are South Africa, Gambia, and Canada respectively. There are also large groups in Ireland , Portugal and many other countries. .

Religion

Nigeria is nearly equally divided between Christianity and Islam. The majority of Nigerian Muslims are Sunni and are concentrated in the northern area of the country, while Christians dominate in the Middle Belt, and south.

According to a 2009 Pew survey, 75% of Nigeria's population were Muslims.^[14] A later Pew study in 2011 estimated that Christians now formed the majority of the nation, comprising 50.8% of the population likely due to Christian's high fertility in Nigeria, while Muslims comprised 47.9%.^[15][16] Adherents of other religions make up 1.4% of the population.^[17]

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. .^[18] 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.^[19] On lower levels of society, there are the "area boys", 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.^[20]

"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 (where black prostitutes are called “fireflies”), 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."^[21]

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.^[22][23] In Switzerland, the crime rate of Nigerian young males was reported as 620% that of Swiss males in same age group (2009 data), the second highest crime rate of any nationality, just below that of Angolan nationals (at 630%).^[24]

Nigeria is also pervaded by political corruption. It is ranked 136 out of 168 countries in Transparency International's 2015 Corruption Perceptions Index.^[25]

References

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Ethnic groups in Nigeria
Anlo Ewe Annang Atyap Bariba Berom Buduma Chamba Defaka Dendi Djerma Ebira Edo Efik Eket Ekoi Eleme Esan Etsakor Fon Fula Goemai Gwari Hausa Ibibio Idoma Igala Igbo Ijaw Isoko Itsekiri Iwellemmedan Jukun Kamuku Kanuri Kilba Kirdi Kofyar Kotoko Kuteb Longuda Mafa Mumuye Nupe Ogoni Saro Tarok Teda Tiv Urhobo Yoruba