| Source | UN (World Population Prospects 2024) |
| Date | 22 Mar 2026 |
As of 2026, Nigeria's population is projected at 242.43 million, compared to 237.53 million in 2025. It is the most populous country in Africa and the sixth-most populous country in the world, accounting for 2.92% of the global population and 15.3% of Africa's population. The population growth rate for 2026 is projected at 2.03%, placing Nigeria 43rd among 237 countries and dependent territories.
There are 122.71 million males and 119.72 million females in Nigeria. The male population accounts for 50.62%, compared to 49.38% for females. Nigeria has 2.98 million more males than females, the sixth-largest male surplus in the world. The sex ratio in 2026 is projected at 102.49 males per 100 females. Nigeria ranks 196th globally in terms of the female-to-male ratio.
In 2026, Nigeria is projected to record 7.71 million births, the third-highest number of births worldwide, accounting for about 5.82% of global births—roughly 21,128 per day, or 880 per hour, or 15 every minute. Meanwhile, the country is expected to record 2.78 million deaths, the fourth-highest death toll in the world, representing nearly 4.37% of global deaths—about 7,619 per day, or 317 per hour, or 5 every minute.
In 2026, Nigeria is projected to have a life expectancy at birth to reach 54.95 years, approximately 18.82 years below the global average, ranking it lowest worldwide. Its life expectancy is comparable to that of Chad, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic.
In 2026, Nigeria's total fertility rate (TFR) is projected at 4.21 children per woman, far above the global average. This places Nigeria 16th worldwide and 14th in Africa, putting it on par with countries such as Sudan, Cameroon, and Yemen in terms of overall fertility.
| Year | Population | Growth (%) | M per 100 F | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | Female | Total | |||
| 1950 | 18,567,218 | 18,715,792 | 37,283,010 | 1.88 | 99.206 |
| 1955 | 20,328,356 | 20,607,279 | 40,935,635 | 1.88 | 98.646 |
| 1960 | 22,313,789 | 22,739,993 | 45,053,782 | 2.03 | 98.126 |
| 1965 | 24,755,924 | 25,330,839 | 50,086,764 | 2.19 | 97.730 |
| 1970 | 27,582,518 | 28,311,320 | 55,893,838 | 2.33 | 97.426 |
| 1975 | 31,322,584 | 32,088,232 | 63,410,815 | 2.83 | 97.614 |
| 1980 | 36,523,047 | 37,241,594 | 73,764,641 | 3.15 | 98.071 |
| 1985 | 42,134,571 | 42,763,402 | 84,897,973 | 2.77 | 98.530 |
| 1990 | 48,360,052 | 48,760,872 | 97,120,925 | 2.71 | 99.178 |
| 1995 | 55,334,418 | 55,485,010 | 110,819,428 | 2.62 | 99.729 |
| 2000 | 63,286,567 | 63,095,927 | 126,382,494 | 2.70 | 100.302 |
| 2005 | 72,861,023 | 72,156,231 | 145,017,253 | 2.76 | 100.977 |
| 2010 | 83,894,724 | 82,748,161 | 166,642,886 | 2.81 | 101.386 |
| 2015 | 96,153,144 | 94,518,735 | 190,671,878 | 2.47 | 101.729 |
| 2020 | 108,098,757 | 105,897,424 | 213,996,181 | 2.11 | 102.079 |
| 2021 | 110,418,030 | 108,111,257 | 218,529,286 | 2.08 | 102.134 |
| 2022 | 112,784,704 | 110,366,192 | 223,150,896 | 2.10 | 102.191 |
| 2023 | 115,206,932 | 112,676,013 | 227,882,945 | 2.10 | 102.246 |
| 2024 | 117,673,770 | 115,005,707 | 232,679,478 | 2.07 | 102.320 |
| 2025 | 120,177,736 | 117,350,045 | 237,527,782 | 2.06 | 102.410 |
| 2026 | 122,708,307 | 119,723,524 | 242,431,832 | 2.03 | 102.493 |
| Year | Life expectancy | Median age | Fertility rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 35.528 | 18.062 | 6.419 |
| 1955 | 36.336 | 18.224 | 6.402 |
| 1960 | 37.207 | 18.276 | 6.364 |
| 1965 | 38.221 | 18.302 | 6.367 |
| 1970 | 40.008 | 17.886 | 6.466 |
| 1975 | 43.054 | 17.308 | 6.773 |
| 1980 | 45.959 | 16.699 | 6.847 |
| 1985 | 46.193 | 16.224 | 6.616 |
| 1990 | 45.733 | 16.151 | 6.459 |
| 1995 | 45.870 | 16.460 | 6.273 |
| 2000 | 47.143 | 16.825 | 6.124 |
| 2005 | 49.538 | 16.843 | 6.063 |
| 2010 | 51.315 | 16.654 | 5.948 |
| 2015 | 51.939 | 16.666 | 5.503 |
| 2020 | 53.072 | 17.214 | 4.700 |
| 2021 | 53.455 | 17.387 | 4.636 |
| 2022 | 54.079 | 17.567 | 4.552 |
| 2023 | 54.462 | 17.754 | 4.482 |
| 2024 | 54.635 | 17.945 | 4.382 |
| 2025 | 54.784 | 18.142 | 4.297 |
| 2026 | 54.953 | 18.348 | 4.205 |
| Year | Total | Crude(per 1000) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Death | Birth | Crude death | Crude birth | |
| 1950 | 1,025,753 | 1,706,938 | 27.513 | 45.783 |
| 1955 | 1,105,754 | 1,887,407 | 27.012 | 46.107 |
| 1960 | 1,191,984 | 2,093,279 | 26.457 | 46.462 |
| 1965 | 1,287,109 | 2,348,954 | 25.698 | 46.898 |
| 1970 | 1,352,961 | 2,648,473 | 24.206 | 47.384 |
| 1975 | 1,389,086 | 3,107,689 | 21.906 | 49.009 |
| 1980 | 1,440,350 | 3,561,961 | 19.526 | 48.288 |
| 1985 | 1,606,955 | 3,896,700 | 18.928 | 45.899 |
| 1990 | 1,831,199 | 4,323,148 | 18.855 | 44.513 |
| 1995 | 2,054,000 | 4,884,848 | 18.535 | 44.079 |
| 2000 | 2,203,964 | 5,547,161 | 17.439 | 43.892 |
| 2005 | 2,275,677 | 6,289,434 | 15.692 | 43.370 |
| 2010 | 2,392,929 | 7,022,105 | 14.360 | 42.139 |
| 2015 | 2,603,771 | 7,426,774 | 13.656 | 38.951 |
| 2020 | 2,693,283 | 7,218,484 | 12.586 | 33.732 |
| 2021 | 2,689,256 | 7,330,875 | 12.306 | 33.546 |
| 2022 | 2,667,414 | 7,406,815 | 11.953 | 33.192 |
| 2023 | 2,675,442 | 7,509,758 | 11.740 | 32.954 |
| 2024 | 2,708,530 | 7,560,407 | 11.641 | 32.493 |
| 2025 | 2,745,394 | 7,640,590 | 11.558 | 32.167 |
| 2026 | 2,780,783 | 7,711,752 | 11.470 | 31.810 |
| Year | Population | Urban (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urban | Rural | ||
| 1950 | 3,772,605 | 33,510,405 | 10.119 |
| 1955 | 4,800,011 | 36,135,623 | 11.726 |
| 1960 | 6,412,057 | 38,641,725 | 14.232 |
| 1965 | 8,547,949 | 41,538,815 | 17.066 |
| 1970 | 11,298,993 | 44,594,845 | 20.215 |
| 1975 | 15,025,776 | 48,385,039 | 23.696 |
| 1980 | 20,222,112 | 53,542,529 | 27.414 |
| 1985 | 26,552,745 | 58,345,228 | 31.276 |
| 1990 | 34,173,569 | 62,947,356 | 35.187 |
| 1995 | 43,370,746 | 67,448,682 | 39.136 |
| 2000 | 54,696,454 | 71,686,040 | 43.279 |
| 2005 | 68,978,387 | 76,038,867 | 47.566 |
| 2010 | 86,117,409 | 80,525,477 | 51.678 |
| 2015 | 106,266,334 | 84,405,544 | 55.733 |
| 2020 | 127,896,884 | 86,099,297 | 59.766 |
| 2021 | 132,362,871 | 86,166,415 | 60.570 |
| 2022 | 136,953,875 | 86,197,021 | 61.373 |
| 2023 | 141,685,483 | 86,197,462 | 62.175 |
| 2024 | 146,531,222 | 86,148,256 | 62.976 |
| 2025 | 151,484,336 | 86,043,446 | 63.775 |
| 2026 | 156,548,433 | 85,883,399 | 64.574 |
| Age group | Male | Female | Total | M per 100 F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Persons | Share (%) | ||||
| 00-04 | 17,540,276 | 17,101,591 | 34,641,867 | 14.29 | 102.565 |
| 05-09 | 16,101,674 | 15,639,238 | 31,740,911 | 13.09 | 102.957 |
| 10-14 | 15,573,018 | 15,054,509 | 30,627,527 | 12.63 | 103.444 |
| 15-19 | 14,062,075 | 13,536,584 | 27,598,659 | 11.38 | 103.882 |
| 20-24 | 12,090,766 | 11,643,962 | 23,734,729 | 9.79 | 103.837 |
| 25-29 | 9,611,409 | 9,271,556 | 18,882,965 | 7.79 | 103.666 |
| 30-34 | 7,896,466 | 7,616,939 | 15,513,404 | 6.40 | 103.670 |
| 35-39 | 6,653,154 | 6,459,820 | 13,112,974 | 5.41 | 102.993 |
| 40-44 | 5,799,180 | 5,651,194 | 11,450,374 | 4.72 | 102.619 |
| 45-49 | 4,920,225 | 4,820,730 | 9,740,954 | 4.02 | 102.064 |
| 50-54 | 3,829,249 | 3,808,244 | 7,637,493 | 3.15 | 100.552 |
| 55-59 | 2,890,564 | 2,921,213 | 5,811,778 | 2.40 | 98.951 |
| 60-64 | 2,174,684 | 2,267,628 | 4,442,312 | 1.83 | 95.901 |
| 65-69 | 1,566,469 | 1,685,515 | 3,251,984 | 1.34 | 92.937 |
| 70-74 | 1,027,422 | 1,136,195 | 2,163,617 | 0.89 | 90.427 |
| 75-79 | 582,732 | 658,470 | 1,241,202 | 0.51 | 88.498 |
| 80-84 | 282,999 | 317,894 | 600,893 | 0.25 | 89.023 |
| 85-89 | 88,751 | 107,174 | 195,924 | 0.08 | 82.810 |
| 90-94 | 15,790 | 22,368 | 38,157 | 0.02 | 70.592 |
| 95-99 | 1,348 | 2,550 | 3,897 | 0.00 | 52.863 |
| 100+ | 56 | 151 | 207 | 0.00 | 37.086 |
| Total | 122,708,307 | 119,723,525 | 242,431,828 | 102.493 | |