Nigeria, officially known as the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country located on the western coast of Africa, featuring 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Nigeria is home to 371 ethnic groups speaking over 500 languages, and the variety of customs and traditions among them gives the country great cultural diversity.
Three largest ethnic groups, namely the Hausa, Yorubas, and Igbos constitute more than 60% of the population.
The Ijaw, Efik, Ibibio, Annang, Ogoni, Tiv, Urhobo-Isoko, Edo and Itsekiri are some of the other sizeable ethnic groups.
Persons of different ethnic backgrounds most commonly communicate in English, although knowledge of two or more Nigerian languages is widespread.
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Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba are the most widely used Nigerian languages.
54.3% of Nigerians are urban dwellers, with the annual rate of urbanisation being estimated at 3.92%.
According to the 2017 revision of the World Population Prospects the total population was 191 million in 2016, compared to only 38 million in 1950.
Nigeria's population has been increasing rapidly for at least the last 5 decades due to very high birth rates, quadrupling its population during this time. Growth was fastest in the 1980s, after child mortality dropped rapidly.
It has slowed slightly since then as both the birth rate and total fertility, rate have declined marginally since a 1978 peak.
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The proportion of children under the age of 15 in 2010 was 44.0%, 53.2% were between 15 and 65 years of age, while 2.7% were 65 years or older.
The former Nigeria's chairman of National Population Commission, Eze Duruiheoma, delivering Nigeria's statement in New York City on sustainable cities, human mobility and international migration in the 51st session of Commission on Population and Development, said that "Nigeria remains the most populous in Africa, the seventh globally with an estimated population of over 198 million.
The World Population Prospects predicts that by 2050, Nigeria will become the third most populated country in the world.
According to the United Nations, the population of Nigeria will reach 375 million by 2050. Nigeria might then be the 3rd most populous country in the world.
The total population in sub-Saharan Africa is projected to increase to almost one billion people, making it the most populated region outside of South-Central Asia.
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Registration of vital events in Nigeria is not complete.
Migration Patterns
Today millions of ethnic Nigerians live abroad, the largest communities can be found in the United Kingdom (500,000-3,000,000) and the United States (600,000-1,000,000 Nigerians), other countries that followed closely are South Africa, Gambia, and Canada respectively.
Between 1400 and 1900, of 1.4 million of 2 million emigrants were slaves sent to the Americas with the other 600,000 being sent to other destinations via the trans-Saharan, Red Sea and Indian Ocean routes.
This is due to the fact that the land now known as Nigeria was a central point for 4 slave trades during the 19th century.
Though bondage represented a great deal, an estimated 30,000 Nigerian inhabitants would relocate to Kano City and Gambia to take advantage of financial opportunities afforded by fertile land and available natural resources.
What's more, the presence of gold mines and rail lines along the Gold Coast, present-day Ghana, attracted an estimated 6,500 Nigerian citizens to attain financial gain and opportunity.
Nigerian Americans are most populous in Maryland, with 52,818 individuals, accounting for 0.86% of the state’s population.
Other states in the Northeast such as New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts also have significant Nigerian American populations, representing 0.34%, 0.23%, and 0.21% of their respective populations.
In the South, Texas has the highest number of Nigerian Americans, reaching 102,544 individuals or 0.34% of the state’s population.
States in the Midwest and West have smaller Nigerian American communities, with many comprising less than 0.1% of their state’s populations.
For example, Montana has the smallest community, with only 81 Nigerian Americans, accounting for just 0.007% of the state’s population.
While smaller in size, these communities still contribute to the diversity and cultural fabric of their respective states.
Religious Distribution
Nigeria is nearly equally divided between Islam and Christianity.
The majority of Nigerian Muslims are Sunni and mostly live in the northern, central and south-western states of the country, while Christians dominate in some central states (especially Plateau and Benue states), and the south-east and south-south regions.
The shift of population balance between Muslims and Christians is a result of northern and southern Nigeria being in different stages of demographic transition.
The Muslim-dominated north is in an earlier stage of the demographic transition with much higher fertility rates than the south, whose split Christian/Muslim population is further along in the transition, and whose fertility rates are declining.
The federal government has not elected to implement the type of controversial family planning programs that have reduced population growth of other developing nations, a result of low political support for these programs and a cultural preference for large families as well as high levels of social instability.
Here is a table summarizing Nigeria's population growth over the years:| Year | Population (millions) |
|---|---|
| 1950 | 38 |
| 2016 | 191 |
| 2050 (Projected) | 375 |
It should be noted that these estimates by the Nigeria National Bureau of Statistics take into account the residual effects of the very high mortality rate due to the rampant AIDS epidemic in the country.
The AIDS epidemic, while a lot more controlled in the United States, is still a very big killer on the entire continent of Africa.
Many people and multiple leaders have taken steps to help African nations such as Nigeria fight the AIDS epidemic.
Fortunately, the numbers have improved significantly over the last 15 to 20 years.
When it comes to the average of a Nigerian citizen, the country is relatively young.
For both males and females, the median age of the country is actually 18.4 years of age.
The split between the males and the females in Nigeria are quite even.
Men take the edge in numbers, but not by much.
There are, according to estimates, about 1.04 males to every 1 female in the country.
The Hausa-Fulani ethnicity outnumbers every other ethnic group, accounting for about 30% of the population. A majority of the Hausa-Fulani are of the Muslim faith.
The official language of Nigeria is English, but the country does feature multiple languages.
The most common non-English languages include the language of Hausa, the language of Yoruba, and the language of Igbo.
The overall religious aspect of Nigeria is generally split between Christianity and Islam.
Most Nigerian Muslims are Sunni and are located in the northern parts of the country while the Christian population is located mainly in the middle and the southern areas of the country.
The life expectancy in Nigeria is, unfortunately, the lowest in all of West Africa.
The average life expectancy is around 54.5 years of age according to WHO data, with men living an average of 53.7 years and women living an average of 55.4 years.
This very low number can be attributed to the fact that the country has a lot of health issues.
As previously mentioned, the AIDS epidemic is a major player in the low life expectancy.
But on top of that, Nigeria has also fallen victim to a high child and maternal mortality rate and the widespread growth of the polio virus.
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