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Nigeria

Population

244,037,499

Estimated as of Oct 28, 2026View source
Population rank
6th
Share of world
2.92%
Annual change
+4,904,0502.06%

Population of Nigeria

0200M400M600M800M1B1.2B2026244M2050 projection359.2M↑ 47% from 202619601980200020202040206020802100

Source: United Nations — World Population Prospects (2024 Revision)

95% prediction interval

Current population estimate: 244,037,499. 2050 projection: 359,185,556.Use the arrow keys on the chart to inspect individual years.

Historical population estimates for Nigeria. Annual change is shown as a percentage.
2026242,431,8322.06%6
2025237,527,7822.08%6
2020213,996,1812.15%6
2019209,485,6412.22%6
2018204,938,7552.34%7
2017200,254,5792.46%7
2015190,671,8782.57%7
2010166,642,8862.83%7
2005145,017,2532.81%7
2000126,382,4942.71%10

Showing 10 of 19 years.

Population by City

Lagos is home to 14,881,845 people, 6.14% of Nigeria's population.

City population10M6M2M
Lagos 14.9MKano 4.9MIbadan 2.1MAbuja Municipal Area Council 2.1MAbuja 2.1MBenin City 1.8MPort Harcourt Metro 1.6MKaduna 1.2MNasarawa 1.1MIfo 1.0M
Largest cities by 2026 population and share of the national population.
1Lagos14.9M6.14%
2Kano4.9M2.03%
3Ibadan2.1M0.87%
4Abuja Municipal Area Council2.1M0.85%
5Abuja2.1M0.85%
6Benin City1.8M0.73%
7Port Harcourt Metro1.6M0.65%
8Kaduna1.2M0.52%
9Nasarawa1.1M0.46%
10Ifo1.0M0.43%

Nigeria by the Numbers

Estimated as of Oct 28, 2026

Population
Nigeria is home to an estimated 244,037,499 people, the 6th largest population in the world.
Daily change
Nigeria has a net population change of approximately 13,493 people per day, driven by 21,114 births, 7,613 deaths, and net emigration of 8 people.
Share of world
Nigeria makes up 2.92% of the world's population and 15.3% of Africa's.
Density
266.2 people per km² of land (689.4 per mi²), ranking 59th among countries and territories.
Urban living
63.78% of people live in urban areas.

Nigeria Demographics

Age & longevity

MaleFemale100+ years, male: 56100+ years, female: 15295–99 years, male: 1,34995–99 years, female: 2,55090–94 years, male: 15,78990–94 years, female: 22,36785–89 years, male: 88,75185–89 years, female: 107,17480–84 years, male: 283,00080–84 years, female: 317,89475–79 years, male: 582,73375–79 years, female: 658,47070–74 years, male: 1,027,42270–74 years, female: 1,136,19465–69 years, male: 1,566,47165–69 years, female: 1,685,51460–64 years, male: 2,174,68360–64 years, female: 2,267,62755–59 years, male: 2,890,56455–59 years, female: 2,921,21350–54 years, male: 3,829,24950–54 years, female: 3,808,24445–49 years, male: 4,920,22545–49 years, female: 4,820,73040–44 years, male: 5,799,18040–44 years, female: 5,651,19535–39 years, male: 6,653,15535–39 years, female: 6,459,82030–34 years, male: 7,896,46530–34 years, female: 7,616,93825–29 years, male: 9,611,40925–29 years, female: 9,271,55720–24 years, male: 12,090,76620–24 years, female: 11,643,96315–19 years, male: 14,062,07515–19 years, female: 13,536,58510–14 years, male: 15,573,01910–14 years, female: 15,054,5085–9 years, male: 16,101,6735–9 years, female: 15,639,2370–4 years, male: 17,540,2750–4 years, female: 17,101,591100+95–9990–9485–8980–8475–7970–7465–6960–6455–5950–5445–4940–4435–3930–3425–2920–2415–1910–145–90–45M5M10M10M15M15M

Hover or tap an age group to see exact counts. Use the up and down arrow keys to inspect age groups.

Median age

19.4 yrs

World: 31

Life expectancy

55 yrs

World: 73.8

Male

50.62%

Female

49.38%

Life expectancy 54.6Life expectancy 55.3

Ethnicity

30%

Hausa

  • Hausa30%
  • Other24.9%
  • Yoruba15.5%
  • Igbo (Ibo)15.2%
  • Fulani6%
  • Tiv2.4%
  • Kanuri/Beriberi2.4%
  • Ibibio1.8%
  • Ijaw/Izon1.8%
Data notes

Source estimate: 2018 est.

Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, is composed of more than 250 ethnic groups

Religion

53.5%

Muslim, the largest religion

  • Muslim53.5%
  • Other Christian35.3%
  • Roman Catholic10.6%
  • Other0.6%
Data notes

Source estimate: 2018 est.

Related Pages

Sources

  1. World Population Prospects (2024 Revision) - United Nations population estimates and projections.
  2. World Population Prospects (2024 Revision) - Nigeria United Nations Graphs/Profiles
  3. World Bank / UN World Urbanization Prospects - 2025: Urban population (% of total population), using national definitions.
  4. National Bureau of Statistics