Demography of Nigeria
Nigeria is one of the most densely populated countries in Africa and, with around 200 million inhabitants, has the largest population on the continent and the seventh largest in the world. Despite a relatively high mortality rate, the country's population continues to grow rapidly and could exceed 400 million by mid-century.
Nigeria is home to over 250 ethnic groups with over 500 languages, and the diverse customs and traditions among them give the country great cultural diversity. The three largest ethnic groups are the Hausa and Fulani with 34% of the population (are mostly counted as one group); together with the Igbo and the Yoruba with approx. 14% each. There are also a number of other smaller ethnic groups. Since each ethnic group has its own language or dialect , the country is also one of the most diverse in the world linguistically. People from different ethnic backgrounds most commonly communicate in English , the country's lingua franca . A characteristic pidgin language has emerged in the country's urban centers .
Characteristic for the demography of Nigeria is a high fertility rate in combination with a low life expectancy . The population is therefore among the youngest in the world. Nigeria is thus between the second and third phase of the demographic transition .
General
Nigeria's population has been growing rapidly for at least five decades due to the very high birth rates, and has quadrupled during that time. Growth was fastest in the 1980s after infant mortality fell rapidly, and has slowed slightly since then as the fertility rate has now fallen slightly. According to the 2017 revision of the World Population Projection, the total population in 2018 was 195,875,000, compared to only 37,860,000 in 1950. The proportion of children under 15 years of age in 2010 was 44.0%, 53.2% were between 15 and 65 years old, while 2.7% were 65 years or older. The population is growing by 2.5 to 3 percent annually.
The Nigerian government has announced that it wants to help curb rapid population growth. She started offering free contraception around 2010 , and she has even taken steps to discourage people from wanting to have large families. The government is relying on smaller families to ensure financial sustainability in the future. They see countries like Thailand (a country that has managed to contain its population growth severely) as a model for their current strategy. However, the government in Abuja has not been able to successfully implement these family planning programs due to a lack of political will, government funding, the availability and affordability of services and products, and there is still a cultural preference for large families. Better education, especially among women, and improved health care services are needed to encourage parents and give them the opportunity to choose smaller families.
In its current forecast, the United Nations expects the population to double to more than 400 million people by 2050 . By the end of the century, it is expected to double again to around 800 million inhabitants.
| year | population | Annual increase |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 37,859,744 | n / a |
| 1955 | 41,085,563 | 1.64% |
| 1960 | 45.137.812 | 1.88% |
| 1965 | 50.127.214 | 2.10% |
| 1970 | 55,981,400 | 2.21% |
| 1975 | 63.373.572 | 2.48% |
| 1980 | 73.460.724 | 2.95% |
| 1985 | 83,613,300 | 2.59% |
| 1990 | 95.269.988 | 2.61% |
| 1995 | 108.011.465 | 2.51% |
| 2000 | 122.352.009 | 2.49% |
| 2005 | 138,939,478 | 2.54% |
| 2010 | 158.578.261 | 2.64% |
| 2015 | 181.181.744 | 2.66% |
| 2018 | 195.875.237 | 2.58% |
Demographics since 1950
Development of various demographic indicators of the country since 1950. The data refer to a period of 5 years.
| period | Number of births | Number of deaths | Fertility per woman | Infant mortality per 1000 births |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950-1955 | 9,105,000 | 5,882,000 | 6.35 | 200 |
| 1955-1960 | 9,989,000 | 5,940,000 | 6.35 | 186 |
| 1960-1965 | 11,012,000 | 6,024,000 | 6.35 | 173 |
| 1965-1970 | 12,155,000 | 6,258,000 | 6.35 | 159 |
| 1970-1975 | 14,003,000 | 6,572,000 | 6.61 | 147 |
| 1975-1980 | 16,161,000 | 6,929,000 | 6.76 | 134 |
| 1980-1985 | 18,210,000 | 7,385,000 | 6.76 | 125 |
| 1985-1990 | 20,090,000 | 8,342,000 | 6.60 | 126 |
| 1990-1995 | 22,232,000 | 9,395,000 | 6.37 | 129 |
| 1995-2000 | 24,919,000 | 10,484,000 | 6.17 | 119 |
| 2000-2005 | 28,058,000 | 11,300,000 | 6.05 | 104 |
| 2005-2010 | 31,197,000 | 11,258,000 | 5.91 | 90 |
| 2010-2015 | 34,424,000 | 11,520,000 | 5.74 | 74 |
Ethnic groups
More than 250 ethnic groups live in Nigeria. The largest and most politically influential peoples in Nigeria are the Hausa and Fulbe (Muslim) living in the north , who together make up 33.4 percent of the population and are summarized in the Hausa-Fulani group, the Igbo (Christian) with 14.1 percent in the south and the Yoruba (Christian) with 13.9 percent in the southwest. There are also other ethnic groups, including the Tiv (2.2%) in the east, the Ibibio (2.2%) in the southeast, the Ijaw (2.0%) in the south, and the Kanuri (1.7%) in the northeast , the Igala (1.0%) and numerous smaller peoples such as the Umon and the Ogoni .
Although different ethnic groups in the country generally live together peacefully, there are still ethnically based conflicts. The Biafra War at the end of the 1960s was based on an attempt to split off the south-eastern regions of the country, which are mostly populated by the Igbo. The current conflict in the Niger Delta originates mainly from the Ijaw and Ogoni and has as its background the unjust distribution of oil revenues and ecological damage. The Sharia conflict in Nigeria reaches its highest intensity in the Kanuri tribal area .
| Ethnicity | proportion of | Distribution area |
|---|---|---|
| Hausa and Fulani | 33.4% | Northwest and North Central |
| Igbo | 14.1% | southeast |
| Yoruba | 13.9% | southwest |
| Tiv | 2.2% | South-east and south-central |
| Ibibio | 2.2% | extreme southeast |
| Ijaw / Izon | 2.0% | southwest |
| Kanuri / Beriberi | 1.7% | Northeast |
| Igala | 1.0% | Central |
| other | 28.9% |
health
The health of the population in Nigeria has been steadily improving as measured by life expectancy since 1950, although progress has not been steady. From a health point of view, access to safe water supplies has become more common, if not general, and there is little wastewater infrastructure. Life expectancy is still among the lowest in the world. In Nigeria, 10% of all children died before they were 5 years old and there were approximately 58,000 deaths among childbearing mothers in 2016.
The preventable diseases that occur in Nigeria include HIV / AIDS , malaria and yellow fever . In 2014 about 3% of the population were HIV positive. Other health hazards include pollution and road accidents. In 2016, 11.5% of the population were malnourished, which is a relatively low figure in a regional comparison.
Life expectancy at birth
Life expectancy (both sexes) from 1950 to 2015 ( UN World Population Prospects ):
| period | Life expectancy in years |
|---|---|
| 1950-1955 | 33.81 |
| 1955-1960 | 35.80 |
| 1960-1965 | 38.13 |
| 1965-1970 | 39.97 |
| 1970-1975 | 42.03 |
| 1975-1980 | 44.29 |
| 1980-1985 | 46.02 |
| 1985-1990 |
 45.95
|
| 1990-1995 |
45.87
|
| 1995-2000 | 46.00 |
| 2000-2005 | 46.94 |
| 2005-2010 | 49.75 |
| 2010-2015 | 51.88 |
migration
Millions of Nigerians now live abroad. The largest parishes are in the United Kingdom (approximately 300,000 to 500,000) and the United States (400,000 Nigerians). There are also large groups in South Africa , Italy , Ireland and many other countries. The reasons for emigration are based heavily on socio-economic problems such as war, insecurity, economic instability and civil unrest. Many emigrants are highly qualified.
It is estimated that between 1400 and 1900, around 1.4 million people were shipped to America as slaves from what is now Nigeria. This is why today's African-Americans have a significant part of their roots in today's Nigeria.
In the country itself, around 1.24 million people immigrated from abroad in 2017, which means that migrants only make up half a percent of the population. The largest groups of foreigners came from Benin (360,000), Ghana (230,000), Mali (170,000), Togo (150,000) and Niger (130,000). Most of the migrants in the country either live in the fast growing cities or work as skilled workers in the country's oil industry.
religion
Nigeria is almost equally divided between Christianity and Islam . The majority of Nigerian Muslims are Sunni and are concentrated in the northern, central and southwestern zones of the country, while Christians dominate in some central states (particularly in the states of Plateau and Benue ) as well as in the southeast and south-south regions. The country has one of the largest Muslim and one of the largest Christian populations in the world at the same time. Other religions practiced in Nigeria are mainly the traditional African religion such as the religion of the Yoruba .
According to a 2009 poll by the Pew Research Center , 45% of Nigeria's population was Muslim. A later Pew study in 2011 calculated that Christians made up 56.8% of the population in Nigeria, while Muslims made up 41.1%. The CIA already estimated the proportion of Muslims at 51.3% for 2013 and that of Christians at 46.9%. Followers of other religions make up 1.4% of the population.
Due to the higher fertility in the Muslim-majority areas of the country, an Islamic majority is expected in the future. Interdenominational violence is a major problem in Nigerian society. Sharia law applies in some states in the country .
urbanization
The country has experienced rapid urbanization since independence and the growth of the urban population is about twice as high as the already rapid population growth. Urbanization therefore increased from 15.4% in 1960 to 49.5% in 2017. This means that a total of 94.5 million people live in the country's cities. The largest urban centers include Lagos , Kano , Ibadan , Benin City and Port Harcourt . The Abuja agglomeration in the center of the country is also one of the fastest growing in the world. Since the urban infrastructure cannot keep pace with the population development, a large part of the urban population lives under precarious hygienic and sanitary conditions in spacious slums . Due to the continued high rate of growth in combination with ongoing urbanization, a future exacerbation of the current problems must be expected.
The largest agglomeration of Lagos (2015 approx. 14 million inhabitants) is expected to grow to 32.6 million by 2050. For the year 2100 a population of over 88 million people is expected.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e The World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency ( en )
- ↑ a b c d e f World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations. Retrieved February 11, 2019 .
- ↑ a b Marcin Stonawski, Michaela Potancokova, Matthew Cantele, Vegard Skirbekk: The changing religious composition of Nigeria: causes and implications of demographic divergence . In: The Journal of Modern African Studies . 54, No. 3, Auraria Library, 2016, pp. 362-386. doi : 10.1017 / s0022278x16000409 .
- ↑ Reiner Klingholz, Felix Lill, Joachim Budde: Demography: Nigeria: Out of control . In: The time . February 14, 2014, ISSN 0044-2070 ( zeit.de [accessed February 12, 2019]).
- ↑ Hans Hielscher: Biafra War 1967: "The death sentence for our people" . In: Spiegel Online . May 30, 2017 ( spiegel.de [accessed February 12, 2019]).
- ↑ Prevalence of undernourishment (% of population) | Data. Retrieved February 11, 2019 .
- ^ NOI-Polls: US And UK Top List Of Countries Most Nigerians Abroad Reside In. Key Reason For Migration Is For Economic Opportunities . Retrieved August 29, 2017.
- ↑ US Census Bureau: American FactFinder - Results. Retrieved February 15, 2019 .
- ↑ Country Profile: Nigeria . June 25, 2010. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
- ^ NOI-Polls: US And UK Top List Of Countries Most Nigerians Abroad Reside In. Key Reason For Migration Is For Economic Opportunities . Retrieved August 29, 2017.
- ↑ 1615 L. St NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20036 USA202-419-4300 | Main202-419-4349 | Fax202-419-4372 | Media Inquiries: Origins and Destinations of the World's Migrants, 1990-2017. In: Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project. February 28, 2018, Retrieved February 11, 2019 (American English).
- ↑ Nigeria: Multiple Forms of Mobility in Africa's Demographic Giant . June 30, 2010. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
- ↑ Mapping out the Global Muslim Population (PDF) Archived from the original on October 10, 2009. Retrieved on August 29, 2011.
- ↑ Global Christianity: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Christian Population (PDF) Archived from the original on July 23, 2013. Information: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
- ↑ Future of the World Muslim Population (web) January 27, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2014.
- ↑ Daniel Urban: From Amina Lawal to Boko Haram: A Decade of Sharia in Northern Nigeria (1999–2009). In: International Society for Human Rights (ISHR). Accessed February 12, 2019 (German).
- ↑ Urban population (% of total) | Data. Retrieved February 11, 2019 .
- ↑ Urban population | Data. Retrieved February 11, 2019 .
- ^ The city that won't stop growing. Retrieved February 11, 2019 (UK English).
- ↑ City population 2050. Accessed on February 15, 2019 (English).
- ↑ John Vidal: The 100 million city: is 21st century urbanization out of control? In: The Guardian . March 19, 2018, ISSN 0261-3077 ( theguardian.com [accessed February 11, 2019]).
