Demographics of Nigeria
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Population density

Total population

The most populous country in Africa, Nigeria accounts for approximately one-quarter of West Africa's people. Although fewer than 25% 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 rich diversity. It is impossible to state demographic figures on Nigeria authoritatively, as national census results have been contested. All data in this article should therefore be viewed with caution.

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 under-estimate.

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]

Overview

The most numerous ethnic group in the northern two-thirds of the country is the Hausa-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 most numerous in the southwest. Over half of the Yorubas are Christian and about a quarter are Muslim, with the remainder following mostly traditional beliefs. The predominantly Christian Igbo are the largest ethnic group in the southeast. Roman Catholics are the largest denomination, but Pentecostal and other Evangelical denominations are also strong. The Efik, Ibibio, Annang, and Ijaw (the country's fourth-largest ethnic group) communities also comprise a substantial segment of the population in that area. 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 Nigerian languages.

Statistics

Demographics of Nigeria, Data of FAO, year 2005 ; Number of inhabitants in thousands.

Population and Population Projections

The United Nations estimates that the population in 2005 was at 141 million, and predicted that it would reach 289 million by 2050.^[2] Nigeria has just recently gone underway a population explosion due to higher fertility rates and population growth.

The United States Census Bureau projects that population of Nigeria will reach 264 million by 2050. Nigeria will then be the 8th most populous country in the world.^[3]

ThisGlobe.com a Nigeria website put the population of each state, which can be verify with satellite picture from Google earth as figure below. This are estimate but closer to the true figures.

List of States by Population:

1. Kano State 4,383,682

2. Lagos State 11,013,534

3. Kaduna State 5,066,562

4. Katsina State 3,792,578

5. Oyo State 9,591,589

6. Rivers State 5,185,400

7. Bauchi State 4,676,465

8. Jigawa State 2,748,649

9. Benue State 4,219,244

10. Anambra State 4,182,032

11. Borno State 4,151,193

12. Delta State 4,098,391

13. Imo State 3,934,899

14. Niger State 3,950,249

15. Akwa Ibom State 2,920,208

16. Ogun State 4,928,098

17. Sokoto State 3,696,999

18. Ondo State 4,841,024

19. Osun State 3,423,535

20. Kogi State 4,278,487

21. Zamfara State 2,259,846

22. Enugu State 3,257,298

23. Kebbi State 3,238,628

24. Edo State 4,218,332

25. Plateau State 3,178,712

26. Adamawa State 3,168,101

27. Cross River State 2,888,966

28. Abia State 2,833,999

29. Ekiti State 2,384,212

30. Kwara State 4,371,089

31. Gombe State 2,353,879

32. Yobe State 2,321,591

33. Taraba State 3,300,736

34. Ebonyi State 2,173,501

35. Nassarawa State 1,863,275

36. Bayelsa State 1,703,358

- Abuja Federal Capital Territory 1,405,201

2006 Census (prelim.)

Nigeria has a population of 140,003,542 (2006 prelim Census^[4]) with males outnumbering females.

The three geo-political zones of the North:

North-West - 35,786,944

North Central - 20,266,257

North East - 18,971,965

Total population 75,025,166

The three geo-political zones of the South:

South-West - 27,581,992

South South - 21,014,655

South East - 16,381,729

Total population 64,978,376

For the North West zone states:

Kano 17,000,682

Kaduna 6,066,562

Katsina 5,792,578

Jigawa 4,348,649

Sokoto 3,696,999

Zamfara 3,259,846

Kebbi 3,238,628

Total population 35,786,944

For the South-West zone states:

Lagos 9,013,534

Oyo 5,591,589

Ondo 3,441,024

Osun 3,423,535

Ogun 3,728,098

Ekiti 2,384,212

Total population 27,581,992

For the North East zone states:

Bauchi 4,676,465

Borno 4,151,193

Adamawa 3,168,101

Gombe 2,353,879

Yobe 2,321,591

Taraba 2,300,736

Total population 18,971,965

For the South East zone states:

Anambra 4,182,032

Imo 3,934,899

Enugu 3,257,298

Abia 2,833,999

Ebonyi 2,173,501

Total population 16,381,729

For the North Central zone states:

Benue 4,219,244

Niger 3,950,249

Kogi 3,278,487

Plateau 3,178,712

Kwara 2,371,089

Nasarawa 1,863,275

Federal Capital Territory 1,405,201

Total population 20,266,257

In the South-South geo-political zone states:

Rivers 5,185,400

Delta 4,098,391

Akwa Ibom 3,920,208

Edo 3,218,332

Cross River 2,888, 966

Bayelsa 1,703,358

Total population 21,014,655

Age structure

0-14 years: 44% (male 27,181,020; female 26,872,317)
15-64 years: 53% (male 33,495,794; female 32,337,193)
65 years and over: 3% (male 1,729,149; female 1,722,349) (2000 est.)

Vital statistics

Population growth rate: 2.38% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 40.16 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 13.72 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1 male(s)/female
total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 74.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

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

Total fertility rate: 5.66 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Ethnic groups

Nigeria, which is Africa's most populous country, is composed of more than 250 ethnic groups; the following are the most populous and politically influential: Hausa and Fulani 29%, Yoruba 20%, Igbo (Ibo) 20%, (Calabar People 10%: Ibibio 4.5%, Annang 3.5%, Efik 2%), Ijaw 6.5%, Kanuri 4%, Tiv 2.5%. These percentages are estimates, based on the number of settlements, including the number of towns, villages, hamlets and cities, with information supplied by the Nigeria postal service.

In the absence of an up to date census, other population figures do not follow scientific procedures. Only these are scientifically backed by settlement figures provided by the government.

Emigration

See People of Nigerian descent, Nigerian British, Nigerian American, Nigerian Canadians

Religions (2000 estimate)

According to the CIA World Factbook

The U.S. State Department, however, estimates that Muslims outnumber Christians, comprising approximately half of the country's population, while Christians make up 40 percent, with the remainder following traditional indigenous religions or no religion. Many people combine elements of Christianity or Islam with elements of indigenous faiths. The predominant form of Islam in the country is Sunni. The Christian population includes Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, and a growing number of Evangelical and Pentecostal Christians. A large majority of Nigerian Christians are Protestant, but Roman Catholicism is the largest single denomination.

It should also be noted that an estimated 8 million Nigerians belong to more than one Christian denomination, and unrecorded transferral of membership between diverse Protestant and "African Christian" bodies is widespread. Accordingly, the denominational membership totals add up to considerably more than the total number of Christians in Nigeria.

The Operation World estimates are stated below. Their inclusion is because of their detail, and does not necessarily constitute an endorsement of their attempt to show that Nigeria has a Christian majority. What they do likely show is the approximate strength of the different denominations relative to one another, but their overall accuracy is unprovable.

• Christian: 40% (Mostly in the Country's Designated 'Middle Belt' and Southern States )
  • Protestant: 26%
    • Pentecostal: 10.9%
    • Evangelical Church of West Africa: 4.1% (outgrowth of the Sudan Interior Mission)
    • TEKAN: 2.8% (outgrowth of the Sudan United Mission)
    • Baptist: 1.6%
    • Methodist: 1.5%
    • Other Protestant: 2.7%
  • African Christian: 18.25% (Denominations with no Western ties)
    • Christ Apostolic Church: 1.8%
    • Church of God Mission International: 1.25%
    • The Church of the Lord (Aladura): 1.1%
    • Cherubim and Seraphim: 0.7%
    • Deeper Life Bible Church: 0.7%
    • Other African Christian: 12.7% (more than 4200 denominations)
  • Roman Catholic: 13.45%
  • Anglican: 10.1%
  • Marginal Christian/Unaffiliated Christian 2.1%
    • Jehovah's Witnesses: 0.5%
    • Other Marginal Christian: 1.6%
• Muslim: 50%. Almost all Sunni (Predominantly in the North; about 25 percent of the population in the South West)
• Indigenous beliefs: 10%
• Other: 0.4%

• Islam: 61,437,208 (47.16%)
• Christianity: 54,665,801 (41.97%)
• Ethnoreligionists: 13,642,132 (10.47%)
• Non Religious: 378,006 (0.29%)
• Atheism: 47,350 (0.04%)
• Baha'i Faith: 33,366 (0.03%)
• Neoreligionists: 19,646 (0.02%)
• Buddhism: 6,953 (0.01%)
• Chinese Universists: 3,843 (0.00%)
• Judaism: 938 (0.00%)

Although the last source gives an estimate for Judaism, none of the sources recognizes the Igbo Jews as adherents of Judaism. Evenso, with estimates of adherence in the range of 40,000, this community comprises a relatively inconsequential 0.17% of the population of Nigeria.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ni.html

Religious Affiliation Among Major Ethnic Groups

Source: http://www.worldchristiandatabase.org

• Hausa: 25,900,527 (Muslims 99.90%, Christians 0.10%)
• Yoruba: 22,921,473 (Christians 60.00%, Muslims 36.38%, Animists 3.00%, Non Religious 0.50%, Baha'is 0.07%, Atheists 0.05%)
• Igbo: 22,926,340 (Christians 97.00%, Animists 2.00%, Non Religious 0.80%, Atheists 0.10%, Baha'is 0.10%)
• Fulani, Toroobe: 6,381,546 (Muslims 99.70%, Christians 0.30%)
• Yerwa Kanuri: 4,037,305 (Muslims 99.99%, Christians 0.01%)
• Ibibio: 3,907,096 (Christians 99.00%, Animists 1.00%)
• Annang: 2,500,557 (Christians 99.00%, Animists 1.00%)
• Efik: 2,107,190 (Christians 99.00%, Animists 1.00%)
• Egba: 3,800,276 (Christians 86.00%, Muslims 11.00%, Animists 3.00%)
• Tiv: 3,349,830 (Christians 94.60%, Animists 4.40%, Non Religious 1.00%)
• Fulani, Haabe: 2,214,006 (Muslims 99.60%, Christians (0.40%)
• Fulani, Sokoto: 2,214,006 (Muslims 99.90%, Christians 0.10%)
• Fulani, Bororo: 1,953,535 (Muslims 99.95%, Christians 0.05%)
• Ijaw, Central-Western: 1,536,781 (Christians 95.00%, Animists 5.00%)
• Ebira: 1,395,332 (Muslims 50.00%, Animists 26.00%, Christians 24.00%)
• Ibibio, Western: 1,354,451 (Christians 96.00%, Animists 4.00%)
• Edo: 1,277,989 (Christians 80.00%, Animists 20.00%)
• Nupe: 1,197,139 (Muslims 92.00%, Animists 5.20%, Christians 2.80%)
• Igala: 1,022,389 (Christians 57.50%, Animists 32.00%, Muslims 10.50%)
• Fulani, Adamawa: 1,003,322 (Muslims 97.00%, Christians 3.00%)

Languages

English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani, Ibibio (Annang/Ibibio/Efik), and others.

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 57.1%
male: 67.3%
female: 49.6% (1995 estimate)

Nationality

noun: Nigerian(s)

adjective: Nigerian

References

1. ^ "Nigeria's counting controversy". bbc.co.uk. BBC News , 14 December 2005. Retrieved on 2006-02-19.
2. ^ World Population Prospects: The 2006 Revision Population Database
3. ^ International Data Base (IDB) - Country Rankings
4. ^ "2006 Census figures". www.thetidenews.com. The Tide (Port Harcourt), January 10, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-03-18.