Nigeria Demographics

Population of Nigeria (2025)

View live population, charts & trends: Population of Nigeria

Nigeria Population
237,527,782
see live
Yearly Change
+2.08%
Global Share
2.89%
Global Rank
6

Median Age

The median age in Nigeria is 18.1 years (2025).

Fertility in Nigeria

A Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 2.1 represents the Replacement-Level Fertility: the average number of children per woman needed for each generation to exactly replace itself without needing international immigration. A value below 2.1 will cause the native population to decline


Total Fertility Rate (TFR)
4.3
(Live Births per Woman, 2025)

Life Expectancy in Nigeria

See also: Countries in the world ranked by Life Expectancy

Both Sexes
54.8
(life expectancy at birth, both sexes combined)
Females
55.1
(life expectancy at birth, females)
Males
54.5
(life expectancy at birth, males)


Infant Mortality Rate and Deaths of Children under 5 Years Old in Nigeria


Infant Mortality
67.7
(infant deaths per 1,000 live births)
Deaths under age 5
101.8
(per 1,000 live births)


Nigeria Urban Population

Currently, 54.9% of the population of Nigeria is urban (130,312,056 people in 2025)


Population Density

The 2025 population density in Nigeria is 261 people per Km2 (675 people per mi2), calculated on a total land area of 910,770 Km2 (351,650 sq. miles).

Largest Cities in Nigeria

# City Population
1 Lagos 15,388,000
2 Kano 4,910,000
3 Ibadan 3,649,000
4 Abuja 2,690,000
5 Port Harcourt 2,120,000
6 Kaduna 1,850,000
7 Benin City 1,782,000
8 Onitsha 1,553,000
9 Aba 1,160,000
10 Maiduguri 1,110,000
11 Ilorin 1,080,000
12 Sokoto 1,040,000
13 Jos 1,040,000
14 Zaria 980,000
15 Enugu 950,000
16 Warri 910,000
17 Oyo 736,072
18 Abeokuta 735,000
19 Akure 730,000
20 Bauchi 693,700
21 Katsina 670,000
22 Osogbo 645,000
23 Gombe 560,000
24 Ile-Ife 560,000
25 Ajegunle 550,000
26 Owerri 545,000
27 Calabar 540,000
28 Ebute Ikorodu 535,619
29 Okene 479,178
30 Ikare 465,000

See also

Sources

Definitions

Population Pyramid

A Population pyramid (also called "Age-Sex Pyramid") is a graphical representation of the age and sex of a population.

Types:

  • Expansive - pyramid with a wide base (larger percentage of people in younger age groups, indicating high birth rates and high fertility rates) and narrow top (high death rate and lower life expectancies). It suggests a growing population. Example: Nigeria Population Pyramid
  • Constrictive - pyramid with a narrow base (lower percentage of younger people, indicating declining birth rates with each succeeding age group getting smaller than the previous one). Example: United States
  • Stationary - with a somewhat equal proportion of the population in each age group. The population is stable, neither increasing nor decreasing.

Stages:

Population pyramid stages

Dependency Ratio

There are three types of age dependency ratio: Youth, Elderly, and Total. All three ratios are commonly multiplied by 100.

Youth Dependency Ratio

Definition: population ages 0-15 divided by the population ages 16-64.

Formula: ([Population ages 0-15] ÷ [Population ages 16-64]) × 100

Elderly dependency ratio

Definition: population ages 65-plus divided by the population ages 16-64.

Formula: ([Population ages 65-plus] ÷ [Population ages 16-64]) × 100

Total dependency ratio

Definition: sum of the youth and old-age ratios.

Formula: (([Population ages 0-15] + [Population ages 65-plus]) ÷ [Population ages 16-64]) × 100

NOTE: Dependency Ratio does not take into account labor force participation rates by age group. Some portion of the population counted as "working age" may actually be unemployed or not in the labor force whereas some portion of the "dependent" population may be employed and not necessarily economically dependent.