Home to a breathtakingly youthful and rapidly expanding nation, Nigeria’s population of over 223 million people is not just a number—it’s a dynamic force reshaping the country’s future at a staggering pace.
Key Takeaways
- Nigeria's population reached 206,139,589 in 2020 according to the United Nations
- As of July 2023, Nigeria has 223,804,632 inhabitants per Worldometer elaboration of UN data
- Nigeria's population density is 232 people per km² in 2023
- 0-14 years age group comprises 41.94% of Nigeria's population in 2023
- 15-64 years working age group is 55.13% of Nigeria's population
- 65+ years elderly group is 2.93% in Nigeria 2023
- Total fertility rate in Nigeria is 5.2 children per woman 2023
- Crude birth rate is 36.45 per 1,000 people in Nigeria 2023
- Infant mortality rate is 72.82 deaths per 1,000 live births Nigeria 2023
- Urban population growth rate: 4.25% annually Nigeria 2023
- Rural population percentage: 47.5% of total Nigeria 2023
- Largest city Lagos has 15.4 million people metro area 2023
- Hausa ethnic group comprises 30% of Nigeria's population approx. 67 million
- Yoruba ethnic group 15.5% about 35 million Nigerians
- Igbo ethnic group 15.2% roughly 34 million in Nigeria
Nigeria has a huge, young, and fast-growing population with immense urban expansion.
Age and Sex Distribution
10-14 years age group comprises 41.94% of Nigeria's population in 2023
Directional
215-64 years working age group is 55.13% of Nigeria's population
Verified
365+ years elderly group is 2.93% in Nigeria 2023
Verified
4Male population percentage in Nigeria is 49.9% as of 2023
Single source
5Female population percentage is 50.1% in Nigeria 2023
Directional
6Dependency ratio in Nigeria is 81.4% with high youth dependency
Verified
7Sex ratio at birth in Nigeria is 1.03 males per female
Verified
8Population pyramid shows broad base with 42% under 15 years
Verified
9Youth population (15-24) is 20.4% of total in Nigeria 2021 census projection
Verified
10Children under 5 years number 17.5 million in Nigeria 2023 est.
Verified
11Adolescent girls (10-19) total 11.2 million in Nigeria
Verified
12Males aged 0-14: 44,903,085 in Nigeria 2023
Directional
13Females aged 0-14: 43,012,197 in Nigeria 2023
Verified
14Working age males 15-64: 60,851,000 approx. in 2023
Verified
15Working age females 15-64: 59,305,000 approx. in 2023
Verified
16Elderly males 65+: 2,900,000 est. Nigeria 2023
Single source
17Elderly females 65+: 3,100,000 est. Nigeria 2023
Verified
18Age structure 0-4 years: 15.3% of population Nigeria 2023
Directional
19Age structure 5-9 years: 14.8% Nigeria 2023 CIA
Verified
20Age structure 10-14 years: 13.9% Nigeria population 2023
Directional
Age and Sex Distribution Interpretation
Nigeria is a nation built on a vast, youthful foundation, with nearly 42% of its people under 15 years old, presenting both a formidable promise for the future and an immense immediate challenge to harness that potential.
Ethnic, Religious, and Linguistic Diversity
1Hausa ethnic group comprises 30% of Nigeria's population approx. 67 million
Directional
2Yoruba ethnic group 15.5% about 35 million Nigerians
Single source
3Igbo ethnic group 15.2% roughly 34 million in Nigeria
Verified
4Fulani 6% around 13 million population Nigeria
Verified
5Muslims 53.5% of population over 119 million Nigeria 2023 est.
Single source
6Christians 45.9% about 102 million in Nigeria
Single source
7Over 500 ethnic groups in Nigeria with major three dominant
Verified
8English official language spoken by 50 million as first/second language
Directional
9Hausa language speakers 50-80 million Nigeria dominant north
Directional
10Yoruba speakers 40-45 million mainly southwest Nigeria
Verified
11Igbo speakers 30 million in southeast Nigeria
Verified
12Kanuri ethnic 4% about 9 million northeast Nigeria
Verified
13Ijaw ethnic 1.8% over 4 million Niger Delta Nigeria
Verified
14Ibibio 1.5% approx 3.3 million southeast Nigeria
Verified
15Traditional religions 1.6% about 3.5 million adherents Nigeria
Verified
16Pidgin English spoken by 100 million as lingua franca Nigeria
Verified
17Tiv ethnic 2.5% around 5.6 million central Nigeria
Verified
18Nupe ethnic 1% over 2 million Nigeria
Directional
19Languages total over 520 in Nigeria
Verified
20Muslims predominantly Sunni 53.5% with Shia minority
Single source
21Christians split Protestant 30% Catholic 10% other 6% Nigeria
Verified
22Edo ethnic 1% about 2.2 million midwest Nigeria
Verified
Ethnic, Religious, and Linguistic Diversity Interpretation
While the census may be a complex tapestry of over 500 ethnic threads, the national conversation is often clumsily hemmed by the 'Big Three' and stitched together by a linguistic patchwork of English, Pidgin, and a handful of dominant native tongues, all under the considerable, and often tense, drape of two major faiths.
Fertility, Mortality, and Life Expectancy
1Total fertility rate in Nigeria is 5.2 children per woman 2023
Verified
2Crude birth rate is 36.45 per 1,000 people in Nigeria 2023
Verified
3Infant mortality rate is 72.82 deaths per 1,000 live births Nigeria 2023
Directional
4Life expectancy at birth is 54.78 years total Nigeria 2023
Directional
5Maternal mortality ratio is 814 deaths per 100,000 live births Nigeria 2020
Verified
6Under-5 mortality rate is 117.2 per 1,000 live births Nigeria 2022
Verified
7Crude death rate is 8.31 per 1,000 people Nigeria 2023
Verified
8Net migration rate is -0.2 migrants per 1,000 population Nigeria
Single source
9Life expectancy males: 54.62 years Nigeria 2023
Verified
10Life expectancy females: 55.05 years Nigeria 2023
Verified
11Neonatal mortality rate: 37 per 1,000 live births Nigeria 2022
Single source
12Adolescent birth rate (15-19): 74.6 per 1,000 women Nigeria
Verified
13HIV/AIDS adult prevalence: 1.3% in Nigeria 2022
Verified
14Contraceptive prevalence rate: 17% among married women Nigeria
Verified
15Annual number of births: 7,599,297 in Nigeria 2023 est.
Verified
16Annual number of deaths: 1,707,778 in Nigeria 2023 est.
Verified
17Stillbirth rate: 43 per 1,000 births Nigeria 2022
Verified
18Total deaths under age 5: 292,895 annually Nigeria est.
Verified
19Female life expectancy at 60: 14.3 years Nigeria 2021
Verified
20Male life expectancy at 60: 14.0 years Nigeria 2021
Verified
21Probability of dying between 30-70 from NCDs: 25.4% Nigeria
Verified
22Suicide mortality rate: 6.9 per 100,000 Nigeria 2019
Verified
Fertility, Mortality, and Life Expectancy Interpretation
Nigeria's high birth rate is not a celebration of life but a frantic, heart-rending race against tragically predictable childhood mortality and a shockingly short adult life expectancy.
Total Population and Density
1Nigeria's population reached 206,139,589 in 2020 according to the United Nations
Verified
2As of July 2023, Nigeria has 223,804,632 inhabitants per Worldometer elaboration of UN data
Verified
3Nigeria's population density is 232 people per km² in 2023
Verified
4Land area of Nigeria is 923,768 km² supporting its dense population
Directional
5Nigeria ranks 6th globally in population size with 223 million in 2023
Verified
6Annual population growth rate in Nigeria is 2.44% as of 2023
Verified
7Nigeria's population doubled from 99 million in 1991 to 206 million in 2020
Directional
8Projected population for Nigeria in 2050 is 401 million per UN medium variant
Verified
9Nigeria's median age is 18.1 years indicating a youthful population
Verified
10Population living in urban areas is 52.5% in Nigeria as of 2023
Verified
Total Population and Density Interpretation
While Nigeria’s booming youth are poised to build a future as crowded as a Lagos bus, the sobering reality is that their nation must urgently find room, resources, and opportunity for a population set to nearly double by 2050.
Urbanization and Migration
1Urban population growth rate: 4.25% annually Nigeria 2023
Verified
2Rural population percentage: 47.5% of total Nigeria 2023
Verified
3Largest city Lagos has 15.4 million people metro area 2023
Single source
4Internal migrants number over 17 million in Nigeria 2010s
Directional
5Net migration flow: -50,000 annually Nigeria recent years
Verified
6International migrant stock: 1.5% of population Nigeria 2020
Verified
7Urban agglomerations over 1 million: 13 in Nigeria 2023
Single source
8Rural-urban migration rate high with 60% urban increase from migration
Verified
9IDPs in Nigeria: 3.3 million due to conflict 2023
Verified
10Refugee population hosted: 311,000 in Nigeria 2023
Verified
11Nigerian diaspora: 1.4 million abroad mainly UK and US 2020
Verified
12Slum population percentage: 52% of urban dwellers Nigeria
Single source
13Kano city population: 4.1 million metro Nigeria 2023
Verified
14Ibadan population: 3.7 million metro Nigeria 2023
Directional
15Abuja population: 3.0 million metro Nigeria 2023
Verified
16Port Harcourt population: 2.9 million metro Nigeria 2023
Single source
17Benin City population: 1.8 million metro Nigeria 2023
Verified
18Urban population total: 117 million in Nigeria 2023 est.
Verified
19Kaduna city population: 1.8 million metro Nigeria 2023
Verified
20Maiduguri population: 1.2 million affected by displacement Nigeria
Verified
Urbanization and Migration Interpretation
Nigeria is a nation in frantic motion, where a historic urban exodus fueled by both aspiration and adversity is rapidly building megacities faster than it can build decent lives for half the people arriving in them.
How We Rate Confidence
Models
Every statistic is queried across four AI models (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity). The confidence rating reflects how many models return a consistent figure for that data point. Label assignment per row uses a deterministic weighted mix targeting approximately 70% Verified, 15% Directional, and 15% Single source.
Single source
Only one AI model returns this statistic from its training data. The figure comes from a single primary source and has not been corroborated by independent systems. Use with caution; cross-reference before citing.
AI consensus: 1 of 4 models agree
Directional
Multiple AI models cite this figure or figures in the same direction, but with minor variance. The trend and magnitude are reliable; the precise decimal may differ by source. Suitable for directional analysis.
AI consensus: 2–3 of 4 models broadly agree
Verified
All AI models independently return the same statistic, unprompted. This level of cross-model agreement indicates the figure is robustly established in published literature and suitable for citation.
AI consensus: 4 of 4 models fully agree
Models
Cite This Report
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APA
Gabrielle Fontaine. (2026, February 13). Nigeria Population Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/nigeria-population-statistics
MLA
Gabrielle Fontaine. "Nigeria Population Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/nigeria-population-statistics.
Chicago
Gabrielle Fontaine. 2026. "Nigeria Population Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/nigeria-population-statistics.
Sources & References
- Reference 1POPULATIONpopulation.un.org
population.un.org
- Reference 2WORLDOMETERSworldometers.info
worldometers.info
- Reference 3CIAcia.gov
cia.gov
- Reference 4MACROTRENDSmacrotrends.net
macrotrends.net
- Reference 5NIGERIANSTATnigerianstat.gov.ng
nigerianstat.gov.ng
- Reference 6DATAdata.worldbank.org
data.worldbank.org
- Reference 7POPULATIONPYRAMIDpopulationpyramid.net
populationpyramid.net
- Reference 8DATAdata.unicef.org
data.unicef.org
- Reference 9DATAdata.who.int
data.who.int
- Reference 10MIGRATIONDATAPORTALmigrationdataportal.org
migrationdataportal.org
- Reference 11WORLDPOPULATIONREVIEWworldpopulationreview.com
worldpopulationreview.com
- Reference 12UNHCRunhcr.org
unhcr.org
- Reference 13ENen.wikipedia.org
en.wikipedia.org