Demographics of Nigeria
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2009) |
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
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1952 | 30,403,305 | — |
| 1963 | 54,959,426 | +5.53% |
| 1991 | 88,992,220 | +1.74% |
| 2006 | 140,431,790 | +3.09% |
| 2013 | 174,507,539 | +3.15% |
174,507,539 (July 2013 est.) (CIA World Factbook)
162,471,000 (July 2011 United Nations est.)
Nigeria has experienced a population explosion for at least the last 50 years due to very high fertility rates, quadrupling its population during this time. Growth was fastest in the 1980s, after child mortality had dropped sharply, and has slowed slightly since then as the birth rate has sunk slightly. According to the 2012 revison 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 population (x 1000) | Population aged 0–14 (%) | Population aged 15–64 (%) | Population aged 65+ (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 37 860 | 41.7 | 55.3 | 3.0 |
| 1955 | 41 122 | 41.6 | 55.6 | 2.8 |
| 1960 | 45 212 | 41.6 | 55.6 | 2.8 |
| 1965 | 50 239 | 41.9 | 55.2 | 2.9 |
| 1970 | 56 132 | 42.6 | 54.6 | 2.8 |
| 1975 | 63 566 | 43.4 | 53.8 | 2.8 |
| 1980 | 73 698 | 44.0 | 53.2 | 2.8 |
| 1985 | 83 902 | 45.0 | 52.2 | 2.8 |
| 1990 | 95 617 | 44.9 | 52.3 | 2.9 |
| 1995 | 108 425 | 44.1 | 53.0 | 2.9 |
| 2000 | 122 877 | 43.5 | 53.7 | 2.8 |
| 2005 | 139 586 | 43.6 | 53.7 | 2.7 |
| 2010 | 159 708 | 44.0 | 53.2 | 2.7 |
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 (DHS 2013) (males 87 034, females 89 529 = 176 574):
| 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 |
| Age group | Male (%) | Female (%) | Total (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-14 | 46,9 | 44,5 | 45,7 |
| 15-64 | 48,6 | 52,0 | 50,3 |
| 65+ | 4,5 | 3,5 | 4,0 |
Fertility and births
Total Fertility Rate (TFR)(Wanted TFR) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):[4] [5] [6]
| Year | CBR (Total) | TFR (Total) | CBR (Urban) | TFR (Urban) | CBR (Rural) | TFR (Rural) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 39 | 6,011 (5,8) | 34 | 5,033 (4,8) | 40 | 6,326 (6,1) |
| 1999 | 37,7 | 5,15 | 35,6 | 4,50 | 38,5 | 5,44 |
| 2003 | 41,7 | 5,7 (5,3) | 36,3 | 4,9 (4,6) | 44,5 | 6,1 (5,7) |
| 2008 | 40,6 | 5,7 (5,3) | 36,8 | 4,7 (4,4) | 42,5 | 6,3 (5,8) |
| 2013 | 39 | 5,5 (4,8) | 35 | 4,7 (4,1) | 42 | 6,2 (5,3) |
| Year | TFR |
|---|---|
| 1981-1982 | 6.3 |
| 1990 | 6.0 |
| 2003 | 5.7 |
| 2008 | 5.7 |
| 2013 | 5.5 |
| Variable | TFR (2003) | TFR (2008) | TFR (2013) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.5 |
| Urban | 4.9 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| Rural | 6.1 | 6.3 | 6.2 |
| Region - North Central | 5.7 | 5.4 | 5.3 |
| Region - North East | 7.0 | 7.2 | 6.3 |
| Region - North West | 6.7 | 7.3 | 6.7 |
| Region - South East | 4.1 | 4.8 | 4.7 |
| Region - South South | 4.6 | 4.7 | 4.3 |
| Region - South West | 4.1 | 4.5 | 4.6 |
Source: Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS)[7]
Population projections
According to the United Nations, the population of Nigeria will reach 440 million by 2050. Nigeria will then be the 3rd most populous country in the world. In 2100, the population of Nigeria will reach 914 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]
| Period | Live births per year | Deaths per year | Natural change per year | CBR* | CDR* | NC* | TFR* | IMR* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950-1955 | 1 821 000 | 1 169 000 | 652 000 | 46.1 | 29.6 | 16.5 | 6.35 | 200.7 |
| 1955-1960 | 1 998 000 | 1 181 000 | 817 000 | 46.3 | 27.3 | 19.0 | 6.35 | 186.6 |
| 1960-1965 | 2 202 000 | 1 197 000 | 1 005 000 | 46.1 | 25.1 | 21.0 | 6.35 | 172.9 |
| 1965-1970 | 2 431 000 | 1 244 000 | 1 187 000 | 45.7 | 23.4 | 22.3 | 6.35 | 159.6 |
| 1970-1975 | 2 801 000 | 1 306 000 | 1 495 000 | 46.8 | 21.8 | 25.0 | 6.61 | 147.3 |
| 1975-1980 | 3 232 000 | 1 377 000 | 1 855 000 | 47.1 | 20.1 | 27.0 | 6.76 | 134.2 |
| 1980-1985 | 3 642 000 | 1 467 000 | 2 175 000 | 46.2 | 18.6 | 27.6 | 6.76 | 125.3 |
| 1985-1990 | 4 018 000 | 1 657 000 | 2 361 000 | 44.8 | 18.5 | 26.3 | 6.60 | 126.0 |
| 1990-1995 | 4 446 000 | 1 866 000 | 2 580 000 | 43.6 | 18.3 | 25.3 | 6.37 | 126.0 |
| 1995-2000 | 4 984 000 | 2 075 000 | 2 909 000 | 43.1 | 17.9 | 25.2 | 6.17 | 118.6 |
| 2000-2005 | 5 606 000 | 2 230 000 | 3 376 000 | 42.7 | 17.0 | 25.7 | 6.05 | 104.0 |
| 2005-2010 | 6 309 000 | 2 224 000 | 4 085 000 | 42.2 | 14.9 | 27.3 | 6.01 | 89.9 |
| * CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman) | ||||||||
Population structure
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.) [10]
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 all ages 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). There are also large groups in Canada, Portugal and many other countries.[citation needed] .
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, 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.
References
- ^ Odunfa, Sola (21 March 2006). "Nigeria's counting controversy". bbc.co.uk. BBC News, 14 December 2005. Retrieved 19 February 2006.
- ^ a b Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2012 Revision Archived 2015-08-16 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ http://www.population.gov.ng/images/Priority%20table%20Vol%204.pdf
- ^ http://microdata.worldbank.org/index.php/catalog/dhs#_r=&collection=&country=&dtype=&from=1890&page=12&ps=&sk=&sort_by=nation&sort_order=&to=2014&topic=&view=s&vk=
- ^ In the News: The Nigerian Census
- ^ http://www.businessmonitor.com/bigdb_data/by_date/2013/no_month_day/story-Nigeria-Economy-2013-04-17-09-29-12.gif
- ^ The DHS Program - Nigeria
- ^ "World Population Prospects The 2012 Revision" (PDF). United Nations. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
- ^ Nigeria: People, CIA World Factbook, 2012. Retrieved on 6 April 2012
- ^ THE STATE OF WORLD POPULATION 2014, 2014. Retrieved on 20 June 2015
- ^ THE STATE OF WORLD POPULATION 2014, 2014. Retrieved on 20 June 2015
- ^ "National literacy main report" (PDF). Retrieved 29 August 2011.
- ^ "Country Profile: Nigeria". Fco.gov.uk. 25 June 2010. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
- ^ "Mapping out the Global Muslim Population" (PDF). Retrieved 29 August 2011.
- ^ "Global Christianity: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Christian Population" (PDF). Retrieved 29 December 2011.
- ^ "Future of the World Muslim Population" (web). 27 January 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
- ^ "Nigeria: Facts and figures". BBC News. 17 April 2007.
- ^ "Organized Crime: African Criminal Enterprises". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
- ^ "Cults of violence – How student fraternities turned into powerful and well-armed gangs". The Economist. 31 July 2008. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
- ^ Olukoya, Sam (20 February 2003). "Crime war rages in Nigeria". BBC News. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
- ^ Marc-Antoine Pérouse de Montclos, "The Dark Side of Diaspora Networking: Organised Crime and Terrorism" in Diasporas, Remittances and Africa South of the Sahara: A Strategic Assessment (2005)[1]
- ^ van Heelsum & Hessels 2006, p. 80
- ^ van Dijk 2001, p. 558
- ^ Neue Statistik: Tamilen sind krimineller als Ex-Jugoslawen, Tages-Anzeiger 12 September 2010. In April 2010, the director of the Swiss Federal Office for Migration (BFM), Alard du Bois-Reymond, issued a statement to the effect that 99.5% of asylum seekers of Nigerian origin in Switzerland were criminals who entered Europe with the intention of pursuing petty crime and drug dealing. Task-Force gegen Asylmissbrauch 11 April 2010.
