In ancient and pre-colonial times, the area of present-day Nigeria was occupied by a great diversity of ethnic groups with different languages and traditions. These included large Islamic kingdoms such as Borno, Kano, and the Sokoto Caliphate dominating the north, the Benin and Oyo Empires that controlled much of modern western Nigeria, and more decentralized political entities and city states in the south and southeast. In 1914, the British amalgamated their separately administered northern and southern territories into a Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria. Nigeria achieved independence in 1960 and transitioned to a federal republic with three constituent states in 1963 under President Nnamdi AZIKIWE. This structure served to enflame regional and ethnic tension, contributing to a bloody coup led by predominately southeastern military officers in 1966 and a countercoup later that year masterminded by northern officers. In the aftermath of this tension, the governor of Nigeria’s Eastern Region, centered on the southeast, declared the region independent as the Republic of Biafra. The ensuring civil war (1967-1970), resulted in more than a million deaths, many from starvation. While the war forged a stronger Nigerian state and national identity, it contributed to long-lasting mistrust of the southeast’s predominantly Igbo population. Wartime military leader Yakubu GOWON ruled until a bloodless coup by frustrated junior officers in 1975. This generation of officers, including Olusegun OBASANJO, Ibrahim BABANGIDA, and Muhammadu BUHARI, continue to exert significant influence in Nigeria to the present day. Military rule predominated until the first durable transition to civilian government in 1999. The general elections of 2007 marked the first civilian-to-civilian transfer of power in the country’s history. National and state elections in 2011 and 2015 were generally regarded as credible. The 2015 election was also heralded for the fact that the then-umbrella opposition party, the All Progressives Congress, defeated the long-ruling (since 1999) People’s Democratic Party, and assumed the presidency, marking the first peaceful transfer of power from one party to another. Presidential and legislative elections in 2019 and 2023 were deemed broadly free and fair despite voting irregularities, intimidation, and violence. The government continues to face the daunting task of institutionalizing democracy and reforming a petroleum-based economy, whose revenues have been squandered through decades of corruption and mismanagement. In addition, Nigeria faces increasing violence from Islamic terrorism, largely in the northeast, large scale criminal banditry focused in the northwest, secessionist violence in the southeast, and competition over land and resources nationwide.
land: 910,768 sq km
water: 13,000 sq km
border countries (4): Benin 809 km; Cameroon 1,975 km; Chad 85 km; Niger 1,608 km
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
mean elevation: 380 m
arable land: 37.3% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 7.4% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 33.3% (2018 est.)
forest: 9.5% (2018 est.)
other: 12.5% (2018 est.)
230,842,743 (2023 est.)
noun: Nigerian(s)
adjective: Nigerian
Hausa 30%, Yoruba 15.5%, Igbo (Ibo) 15.2%, Fulani 6%, Tiv 2.4%, Kanuri/Beriberi 2.4%, Ibibio 1.8%, Ijaw/Izon 1.8%, other 24.9% (2018 est.)
note: Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is composed of more than 250 ethnic groups
English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani, over 500 additional indigenous languages
Muslim 53.5%, Roman Catholic 10.6%, other Christian 35.3%, other 0.6% (2018 est.)
Nigeria’s population is projected to grow from more than 186 million people in 2016 to 392 million in 2050, becoming the world’s fourth most populous country. Nigeria’s sustained high population growth rate will continue for the foreseeable future because of population momentum and its high birth rate. Abuja has not successfully implemented family planning programs to reduce and space births because of a lack of political will, government financing, and the availability and affordability of services and products, as well as a cultural preference for large families. Increased educational attainment, especially among women, and improvements in health care are needed to encourage and to better enable parents to opt for smaller families.Nigeria needs to harness the potential of its burgeoning youth population in order to boost economic development, reduce widespread poverty, and channel large numbers of unemployed youth into productive activities and away from ongoing religious and ethnic violence. While most movement of Nigerians is internal, significant emigration regionally and to the West provides an outlet for Nigerians looking for economic opportunities, seeking asylum, and increasingly pursuing higher education. Immigration largely of West Africans continues to be insufficient to offset emigration and the loss of highly skilled workers. Nigeria also is a major source, transit, and destination country for forced labor and sex trafficking.
0-14 years: 40.69% (male 47,978,838/female 45,940,446)
15-64 years: 55.95% (male 64,923,147/female 64,241,948)
65 years and over: 3.36% (2023 est.) (male 3,635,334/female 4,123,030)
total dependency ratio: 86
youth dependency ratio: 80.6
elderly dependency ratio: 5.5
potential support ratio: 18 (2021 est.)
total: 19.2 years (2023 est.)
male: 18.9 years
female: 19.4 years
2.53% (2023 est.)
34 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
8.5 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
-0.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
largest population of any African nation; significant population clusters are scattered throughout the country, with the highest density areas being in the south and southwest as shown in this
urban population: 54.3% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 3.92% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
15.946 million Lagos, 4.348 million Kano, 3.875 million Ibadan, 3.840 million ABUJA (capital), 3.480 million Port Harcourt, 1.905 million Benin City (2023)
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female
total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
20.4 years (2018 est.)
note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49
1,047 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
total: 55.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 60.4 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 49.6 deaths/1,000 live births
total population: 61.8 years (2023 est.)
male: 59.9 years
female: 63.8 years
4.57 children born/woman (2023 est.)
2.22 (2023 est.)
16.6% (2018)
improved: urban: 95.3% of population
rural: 68.8% of population
total: 82.6% of population
unimproved: urban: 4.7% of population
rural: 31.2% of population
total: 17.4% of population (2020 est.)
3.4% of GDP (2020)
0.38 physicians/1,000 population (2018)
improved: urban: 81.6% of population
rural: 41.4% of population
total: 62.3% of population
unimproved: urban: 18.4% of population
rural: 58.6% of population
total: 37.7% of population (2020 est.)
degree of risk: very high (2023)
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria, dengue fever, and yellow fever
water contact diseases: schistosomiasis
animal contact diseases: rabies
respiratory diseases: meningococcal meningitis
aerosolized dust or soil contact diseases: Lassa fever
note 1: on 4 May 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a Travel Health Notice for a Yellow Fever outbreak in Nigeria; a large, ongoing outbreak of yellow fever in Nigeria began in September 2017; the outbreak is now spread throughout the country with the Nigerian Ministry of Health reporting cases of the disease in multiple states (Bauchi, Benue, Delta, Ebonyi, and Enugu); the CDC recommends travelers going to Nigeria should receive vaccination against yellow fever at least 10 days before travel and should take steps to prevent mosquito bites while there; those never vaccinated against yellow fever should avoid travel to Nigeria during the outbreak (see attached map)
note 2: on 31 August 2023, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Travel Alert for polio in Africa; Nigeria is currently considered a high risk to travelers for circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV); vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) is a strain of the weakened poliovirus that was initially included in oral polio vaccine (OPV) and that has changed over time and behaves more like the wild or naturally occurring virus; this means it can be spread more easily to people who are unvaccinated against polio and who come in contact with the stool or respiratory secretions, such as from a sneeze, of an “infected” person who received oral polio vaccine; the CDC recommends that before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series; before travel to any high-risk destination, the CDC recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine
note 3: on 20 September 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated a Travel Health Alert for a diphtheria outbreak in several states in Nigeria; vaccination against diphtheria is essential to protect against disease; if you are traveling to an affected area, you should be up to date with your diphtheria vaccines; before travel, discuss the need for a booster dose with your healthcare professional; diphtheria is a serious infection caused by strains of Corynebacterium diphtheriae bacteria that make a toxin from which people get very sick; diphtheria bacteria spread from person to person through respiratory droplets like from coughing or sneezing; people can also get sick from touching open sores or ulcers of people sick with diphtheria (see attached map)
8.9% (2016)
total: 4.49 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 0.73 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 0.09 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 0.4 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 3.27 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total: 3.7% (2020 est.)
male: 6.9% (2020 est.)
female: 0.5% (2020 est.)
18.4% (2019/20)
66.2% (2023 est.)
women married by age 15: 12.3%
women married by age 18: 30.3%
men married by age 18: 1.6% (2021 est.)
note: due to prolonged insecurity concerns, some parts of states, including Borno state, were not sampled
0.5% of GDP (2013)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 62%
male: 71.3%
female: 52.7% (2018)
serious overpopulation and rapid urbanization have led to numerous environmental problems; urban air and water pollution; rapid deforestation; soil degradation; loss of arable land; oil pollution - water, air, and soil have suffered serious damage from oil spills
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Tropical Timber 2006
varies; equatorial in south, tropical in center, arid in north
agricultural land: 78% (2018 est.)
arable land: 37.3% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 7.4% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 33.3% (2018 est.)
forest: 9.5% (2018 est.)
other: 12.5% (2018 est.)
urban population: 54.3% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 3.92% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
widespread lack of access: due to persistent civil conflict in the northern areas, floods, high food prices, and an economic slowdown - about 25.3 million people are projected to face acute food insecurity during the June to August 2023 lean season; this would be a significant deterioration compared to last year, when 19.45 million people were estimated to be acutely food insecure; acute food insecurity is mostly driven by the deterioration of security conditions and conflicts in northern states, which have led to the displacement of about 3.17 million people as of March 2022 (the latest data available) and are constraining farmers’ access to their lands; widespread flooding in 2022, affecting about 4.5 million people across the country, has further compounded conditions, particularly in areas already facing high levels of insecurity; high food prices and the expected slowdown in economic growth in 2023 are additional drivers of acute food insecurity (2023)
1.02% of GDP (2018 est.)
0% of GDP (2018 est.)
particulate matter emissions: 55.64 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
carbon dioxide emissions: 120.37 megatons (2016 est.)
methane emissions: 143.99 megatons (2020 est.)
municipal solid waste generated annually: 27,614,830 tons (2009 est.)
fresh water lake(s): Lake Chad (endorheic lake shared with Niger, Chad, and Cameroon) - 10,360-25,900 sq km
note - area varies by season and year to year
Niger river mouth (shared with Guinea [s], Mali, Benin, and Niger) - 4,200 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
Atlantic Ocean drainage: Niger (2,261,741 sq km)
Internal (endorheic basin) drainage: Lake Chad (2,497,738 sq km)
Lake Chad Basin, Lullemeden-Irhazer Aquifer System
municipal: 5 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
industrial: 1.97 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
agricultural: 5.51 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
286.2 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
largest African market economy; enormous but mostly lower middle income labor force; major oil exporter; key telecommunications and finance industries; susceptible to energy prices; regional leader in critical infrastructure; primarily agrarian employment
$1.05 trillion (2021 est.)
$1.014 trillion (2020 est.)
$1.032 trillion (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
3.65% (2021 est.)
-1.79% (2020 est.)
2.21% (2019 est.)
$4,900 (2021 est.)
$4,900 (2020 est.)
$5,100 (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
$475.062 billion (2019 est.)
16.95% (2021 est.)
13.25% (2020 est.)
11.4% (2019 est.)
Fitch rating: B (2020)
Moody’s rating: B2 (2017)
Standard & Poors rating: B- (2020)
note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.
agriculture: 21.1% (2016 est.)
industry: 22.5% (2016 est.)
services: 56.4% (2017 est.)comparison rankings:
household consumption: 80% (2017 est.)
government consumption: 5.8% (2017 est.)
investment in fixed capital: 14.8% (2017 est.)
investment in inventories: 0.7% (2017 est.)
exports of goods and services: 11.9% (2017 est.)
imports of goods and services: -13.2% (2017 est.)
cassava, yams, maize, oil palm fruit, rice, vegetables, sorghum, groundnuts, fruit, sweet potatoes
crude oil, coal, tin, columbite; rubber products, wood; hides and skins, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food products, footwear, chemicals, fertilizer, printing, ceramics, steel
-0.47% (2021 est.)
65.116 million (2021 est.)
9.79% (2021 est.)
9.71% (2020 est.)
8.53% (2019 est.)
total: 19.6% (2021 est.)
male: 19.8% NA
female: 19.4% NA
40.1% (2018 est.)
35.1 (2018 est.)
on food: 59% of household expenditures (2018 est.)
on alcohol and tobacco: 1% of household expenditures (2018 est.)
lowest 10%: 1.8%
highest 10%: 38.2% (2010 est.)
revenues: $37.298 billion (2019 est.)
expenditures: $59.868 billion (2019 est.)
-1.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
21.8% of GDP (2017 est.)
19.6% of GDP (2016 est.)
3.4% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
calendar year
-$1.849 billion (2021 est.)
-$15.986 billion (2020 est.)
-$13.685 billion (2019 est.)
$50.856 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$39.937 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$69.927 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
India 16%, Spain 12%, United States 6%, France 6%, China 5% (2021)
crude petroleum, natural gas, scrap vessels, cocoa beans, refined petroleum (2021)
$66.107 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$72.178 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$100.82 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
China 30%, Netherlands 11%, United States 6%, Belgium 5% (2019)
refined petroleum, cars, wheat, laboratory glassware, packaged medicines (2019)
$36.73 billion (31 December 2020 est.)
$38.336 billion (31 December 2019 est.)
$42.839 billion (31 December 2018 est.)
$26.847 billion (2019 est.)
$22.755 billion (2018 est.)
nairas (NGN) per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
358.811 (2020 est.)
306.921 (2019 est.)
306.084 (2018 est.)
305.79 (2017 est.)
253.492 (2016 est.)
population without electricity: 66 million (2020)
electrification - total population: 59.6% (2021)
electrification - urban areas: 89.2% (2021)
electrification - rural areas: 26.3% (2021)
installed generating capacity: 11.691 million kW (2020 est.)
consumption: 24,611,480,000 kWh (2019 est.)
exports: 0 kWh (2019 est.)
imports: 0 kWh (2019 est.)
transmission/distribution losses: 4.713 billion kWh (2019 est.)comparison rankings:
fossil fuels: 78.1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
solar: 0.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
wind: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
hydroelectricity: 21.7% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
biomass and waste: 0.1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
production: 44,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
consumption: 85,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
exports: 12,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
imports: 77,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
proven reserves: 344 million metric tons (2019 est.)
total petroleum production: 1,646,900 bbl/day (2021 est.)
refined petroleum consumption: 483,100 bbl/day (2019 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate exports: 1,889,100 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate imports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil estimated reserves: 36.89 billion barrels (2021 est.)
35,010 bbl/day (2017 est.)
2,332 bbl/day (2015 est.)
223,400 bbl/day (2015 est.)
production: 46,296,835,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
consumption: 18,787,602,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
exports: 27,509,177,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
imports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
proven reserves: 5,760,883,000,000 cubic meters (2021 est.)
104.494 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke: 231,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids: 67.406 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from consumed natural gas: 36.856 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
8.466 million Btu/person (2019 est.)
number of registered air carriers: 13 (2020)
inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 104
annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 8,169,192 (2018)
annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 19.42 million (2018) mt-km
5N
54 (2021)
40
civil airports: 8
military airports: 0
joint use (civil-military) airports: 3
other airports: 29
note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
14
note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control
5 (2021)
124 km condensate, 4,045 km gas, 164 km liquid petroleum gas, 4,441 km oil, 3,940 km refined products (2013)
total: 3,798 km (2014)
standard gauge: 293 km (2014) 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge: 3,505 km (2014) 1.067-m gauge
note: as of the end of 2018, there were only six operational locomotives in Nigeria primarily used for passenger service; the majority of the rail lines are in a severe state of disrepair and need to be replaced
total: 195,000 km (2017)
paved: 60,000 km (2017)
unpaved: 135,000 km (2017)
8,600 km (2011) (Niger and Benue Rivers and smaller rivers and creeks)
total: 832 (2022)
by type: general cargo 16, oil tanker 111, other 705
major seaport(s): Bonny Inshore Terminal, Calabar, Lagos
oil terminal(s): Bonny Terminal, Brass Terminal, Escravos Terminal, Forcados Terminal, Pennington Terminal, Qua Iboe Terminal
LNG terminal(s) (export): Bonny Island
manyapis