Nigeria - Geography

Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Nigeria. The Niger River enters the country in the northwest and flows southward through tropical rain forests and swamps to its delta in the Gulf of Guinea. Mother's mean age at first birth is 20.4 years (2018 est.) (Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 1,047 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Geographical data of Nigeria
Location Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon
Geographic coordinates 10 00 N, 8 00 E
Map references Africa
Tarrain southern lowlands merge into central hills and plateaus; mountains in southeast, plains in north
Natural Resources natural gas, petroleum, tin, iron ore, coal, limestone, niobium, lead, zinc, arable land
Natural Hazards periodic droughts; flooding
Irrigated Land 2,930 sq km (2012)
Major rivers (by length in km) 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
Major aquifers Lake Chad Basin, Lullemeden-Irhazer Aquifer System
Land Boundaries 4,477 km
Border Countries Benin 809 km; Cameroon 1,975 km; Chad 85 km; Niger 1,608 km
Coastline 853 km
Climate varies; equatorial in south, tropical in center, arid in north
Area
Total Area
Land Area 910,768 sq km
Water Area 13,000 sq km
comparative Area about six times the size of Georgia; slightly more than twice the size of California
Maritime Claims
Territorial sea 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone 200 nm
Continental shelf 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Elevations
Highest point Chappal Waddi 2,419 m
Lowest point Atlantic Ocean 0 m
Mean elevation 380 m
Land Use
Agricultural land 78% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: arable land arable land: 37.3% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent crops permanent crops: 7.4% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent pasture permanent pasture: 33.3% (2018 est.)
Forest 9.5% (2018 est.)
Other 12.5% (2018 est.)
Population Distribution

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 population distribution map

People and Society

In Nigeria, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: 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.)

Population
Pop growth rate 2.52% (2024 est.)
Birth rate 33.8 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Death rate 8.4 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Health expenditure 3.4% of GDP (2020)
Physicians Density
Hospital bed Density
Total fertility rate 4.52 children born/woman (2024 est.)
Gross reproduction rate 2.19 (2024 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate 16.6% (2018)
Est married women (ages 15-49) 66.2% (2023 est.)
Literacy age 15 and over can read and write
Education expenditures 0.5% of GDP (2013)
Net Migration rate -0.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Nationality Nigerian | Nigerian(s)
Languages English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani, over 500 additional indigenous languages
Religions Muslim 53.5%, Roman Catholic 10.6%, other Christian 35.3%, other 0.6% (2018 est.)
Age Structure
0-14 years 40.4% (male 48,856,606/female 46,770,810)
15-64 years 56.2% (male 66,897,900/female 66,187,584)
65 years and over 3.4% (2024 est.) (male 3,759,943/female 4,274,287)
Dependency Ratios
Total dependency ratio 86
Youth dependency ratio 80.6
Elderly dependency ratio 5.5
Potential support ratio 18 (2021 est.)
Median Age
Total 19.3 years (2024 est.)
Male 19.1 years
Female 19.6 years
Urbanization
Urban population 54.3% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization 3.92% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas (Pop) 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).
Sex Ratio
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 (2024 est.)
Infant Motality
Total 53.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male 58.9 deaths/1,000 live births
Female 48.2 deaths/1,000 live births
Life Expectancy at birth
Total population 62.2 years (2024 est.)
Male 60.4 years
Female 64.2 years
Drinking Water Sources
Improved: urban urban: 95.3% of population
Improved: rural rural: 68.8% of population
Improved: total total: 82.6% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 4.7% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 31.2% of population
Unimproved: total total: 17.4% of population (2020 est.)
Sanitation facility acess
Improved: urban urban: 81.6% of population
Improved: rural rural: 41.4% of population
Improved: total total: 62.3% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 18.4% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 58.6% of population
Unimproved: total total: 37.7% of population (2020 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
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.)
Tobacco use
Total 3.7% (2020 est.)
Male 6.9% (2020 est.)
Female 0.5% (2020 est.)
Child marriage
Women married by age 15 12.3%
Women married by age 18 30.3%
Men married by age 18 1.6% (2021 est.)
Demographic profile

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.

All Important Facts about Nigeria

Want to know more about Nigeria? Check all different factbooks for Nigeria below.

Nigeria is found in Western Africa