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.)
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon |
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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.) |
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
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 | |
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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.) |
Major Infectious diseases | |
Degree of risk | very high (2023) |
Food or waterborne diseases | bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever |
Vectorborne diseases | malaria, dengue fever, and sexually transmitted diseases: hepatitis B (2024) |
Water contact diseases | schistosomiasis |
Animal contact diseases | rabies |
Respiratory diseases | meningococcal meningitis |
Aerosolized dust or soil contact diseases | Lassa fever |
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.) |
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.
Want to know more about Nigeria? Check all different factbooks for Nigeria below.