Lagos, Nigeria Population 2024

Lagos's 2024 population is now estimated at 16,536,000In 1950, the population of Lagos was 325,218Lagos has grown by 590,100 in the last year, which represents a 3.7% annual change.These population estimates and projections come from the latest revision of the UN World Urbanization Prospects. These estimates represent the Urban agglomeration of Lagos, which typically includes Lagos's population in addition to adjacent suburban areas.

Lagos is a port city and the most populous city in Nigeria. The metropolitan area originated on islands, including Lagos Island, that were protected from the Atlantic Ocean by sand spits. The city has expanded onto the mainland west of the lagoon, however, with Ikeja, the capital of Lagos, and Agege over 25 miles northwest of Lagos Island. Lagos has a population estimated at 21 million in 2016, which makes it the largest city in Africa.

The Lagos State Government estimates the population of Lagos at 17.5 million, although this number has been disputed by the Nigerian Government and found to be unreliable by the National Population Commission of Nigeria, which put the population at over 21 million in 2016. Lagos surpassed Cairo in size in 2012 to become the largest city of Africa. The population was estimated at just 11.2 million in 2011 by the United Nations.

City Size and Population Density

The city of Lagos covers an immense area, coming in with a total of 1,171.28 square kilometers (452.23 square miles). With the population continuing to grow, and currently exceeding at least 17 million residents, the population density is around 6,871 residents per square kilometer (17,800 per square mile).

Lagos Demographics

Lagos was originally inhabited by the Awori group of the Yoruba people. Today, it has a very diverse population due to heavy migration from other parts of Nigeria and surrounding countries. The Yoruba are the dominant ethnic group. There are more than 250 ethnic groups represented in Lagos, however, including the Hausa, Igbo, and Fulani. Small minorities of American, British, East Indian, Chinese, white Zimbabwean, Greek, Syrian, Lebanese and Japanese are also present in the city. In the mid-19th century, many ex-slaves of Afro-Brazilian and Afro-Cuban descent and emigrants from Sierra Leone created communities in Lagos, along with ex-slaves from the Americas. They became missionaries and merchants in the city.

While there are many millionaires in Lagos, about 66% of the population lives in slums. The city has been dubbed the "mega-city of slums," with millions living in and around the lagoons with no access to roads, clean water, electricity or waste disposal. The World Bank has identified 9 of the largest slums of the city for upgrading with a $200 million loan from the United States, which would benefit about one million people. One large slum is Makoko, which has no security and rampant crime.

Lagos Population Growth

Lagos has enjoyed tremendous growth, reaching 21 million from just 1.4 million as recently as 1970. The city now generates 25% of Nigeria's total gross domestic product, and it has many millionaires. It is also the 8th fastest growing city in Africa. Unlike the rest of Nigeria, Lagos is an excellent example of what is possible when the government offers energy and other initiatives to its residents.

Oddly enough, in 1999 the United Nations predicted that the city's metropolitan area, which had only about 290,000 inhabitants in 1950, would exceed 20 million by 2010 and thus become one of the ten most populated cities in the world. It is certainly close - between the predictions and current estimates - and we will continue to watch as the growth unfolds in this city.

Lagos is also a window to the future. In about 25 years, at the rate Nigeria is currently growing, it will have a population of 300 million, or the same as the present-day United States, all living in an area the size of Nevada, New Mexico, and Arizona. With the population doubling over the last 15 years, living standards across Nigeria remain poor. Today, 25% of Africans are Nigerian.

By 2050, Lagos' population is expected to double once more, which will make it the 3rd largest city in the world but with less infrastructure than any other large cities of the world.

Country
Nigeria
Growth Rate
3.7%

86 Rows

Year
Population
203524,418,800
203423,632,000
203322,855,900
203222,091,000
203121,339,300
203020,600,200
202919,875,200
202819,165,800
202718,474,700
202617,803,700
202517,156,400
202416,536,000
202315,945,900
202215,387,600
202114,862,100
202014,368,300
201913,903,600
201813,463,400
201713,042,300
201612,634,400
201512,239,200
201411,856,400
201311,485,600
201211,126,800
201110,778,300
201010,441,200
200910,114,600
20089,798,670
20079,491,780
20069,194,900
20058,859,400
20048,518,770
20038,190,350
20027,875,020
20017,571,830
20007,280,710
19997,000,020
19986,730,520
19976,471,390
19966,222,580
19955,982,680
19945,752,350
19935,530,880
19925,318,230
19915,067,000
19904,764,090
19894,479,290
19884,211,870
19873,959,750
19863,723,030
19853,500,460
19843,291,480
19833,094,450
19822,909,460
19812,735,530
19802,572,220
19792,418,240
19782,273,680
19772,137,760
19762,010,130
19751,889,800
19741,776,830
19731,670,610
19721,570,870
19711,476,840
19701,413,530
19691,352,930
19681,295,010
19671,239,420
19661,186,290
19651,135,440
19641,086,830
19631,020,970
1962926,233
1961840,287
1960762,418
1959691,580
1958627,408
1957569,190
1956516,443
1955468,460
1954424,991
1953385,556
1952359,025
1951341,692
1950325,218

86 Rows

Year
Population
Change
Growth
1950325,2180%0
1951341,6925.07%16,474
1952359,0255.07%17,333
1953385,5567.39%26,531
1954424,99110.23%39,435
1955468,46010.23%43,469
1956516,44310.24%47,983
1957569,19010.21%52,747
1958627,40810.23%58,218
1959691,58010.23%64,172
1960762,41810.24%70,838
1961840,28710.21%77,869
1962926,23310.23%85,946
19631,020,97010.23%94,737
19641,086,8306.45%65,860
19651,135,4404.47%48,610
19661,186,2904.48%50,850
19671,239,4204.48%53,130
19681,295,0104.49%55,590
19691,352,9304.47%57,920
19701,413,5304.48%60,600
19711,476,8404.48%63,310
19721,570,8706.37%94,030
19731,670,6106.35%99,740
19741,776,8306.36%106,220
19751,889,8006.36%112,970
19762,010,1306.37%120,330
19772,137,7606.35%127,630
19782,273,6806.36%135,920
19792,418,2406.36%144,560
19802,572,2206.37%153,980
19812,735,5306.35%163,310
19822,909,4606.36%173,930
19833,094,4506.36%184,990
19843,291,4806.37%197,030
19853,500,4606.35%208,980
19863,723,0306.36%222,570
19873,959,7506.36%236,720
19884,211,8706.37%252,120
19894,479,2906.35%267,420
19904,764,0906.36%284,800
19915,067,0006.36%302,910
19925,318,2304.96%251,230
19935,530,8804%212,650
19945,752,3504%221,470
19955,982,6804%230,330
19966,222,5804.01%239,900
19976,471,3904%248,810
19986,730,5204%259,130
19997,000,0204%269,500
20007,280,7104.01%280,690
20017,571,8304%291,120
20027,875,0204%303,190
20038,190,3504%315,330
20048,518,7704.01%328,420
20058,859,4004%340,630
20069,194,9003.79%335,500
20079,491,7803.23%296,880
20089,798,6703.23%306,890
200910,114,6003.22%315,930
201010,441,2003.23%326,600
201110,778,3003.23%337,100
201211,126,8003.23%348,500
201311,485,6003.22%358,800
201411,856,4003.23%370,800
201512,239,2003.23%382,800
201612,634,4003.23%395,200
201713,042,3003.23%407,900
201813,463,4003.23%421,100
201913,903,6003.27%440,200
202014,368,3003.34%464,700
202114,862,1003.44%493,800
202215,387,6003.54%525,500
202315,945,9003.63%558,300
202416,536,0003.7%590,100
202517,156,4003.75%620,400
202617,803,7003.77%647,300
202718,474,7003.77%671,000
202819,165,8003.74%691,100
202919,875,2003.7%709,400
203020,600,2003.65%725,000
203121,339,3003.59%739,100
203222,091,0003.52%751,700
203322,855,9003.46%764,900
203423,632,0003.4%776,100
203524,418,8003.33%786,800

Lagos Population Data (Urban Area)

Name
2024 Pop.
2024 Growth
Lagos16,536,0003.7%
Kano4,490,7303.27%
Abuja4,025,7404.85%
Ibadan4,004,3203.34%
Port Harcourt3,636,5504.5%
Benin City1,972,5603.57%
Onitsha1,694,9104.41%
Uyo1,393,4504.83%
Nnewi1,300,9904.99%
Aba1,230,4103.5%
Kaduna1,221,4502.87%
Ikorodu1,145,2204.75%
Ilorin1,063,7103.22%
Warri1,031,4204.51%
Owerri1,022,9204.02%
Jos1,001,1603.2%
Umuahia947,4604.79%
Lokoja885,8825.58%
Enugu875,5523.42%
Maiduguri870,2013.01%

Other Cities in Nigeria

  1. National Bureau of Statistics - Nigeria data and statistics
  2. National Population Commission Nigeria - Lagos State population data

Sources