Population aged 65 years or older in Nigeria
Nigeria: Population aged 65 years or older was 7,190 thousands in 2025. β² Rising
Population aged 65 years or older in Nigeria, 1970β2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in thousands.
Analysis
Nigeria recorded 7,190 thousands for population aged 65 years or older in 2025. That is the highest value across all 56 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.8% on the previous year and up 28.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population aged 65 years or older in Nigeria peaked at 7,190 thousands in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1,819 thousands, in 1970.
Nigeria ranks 24th of 230 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 56 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2,007 thousands | 1,819 thousands | 2,235 thousands | 10 |
| 1980s | 2,611 thousands | 2,298 thousands | 2,934 thousands | 10 |
| 1990s | 3,352 thousands | 3,009 thousands | 3,705 thousands | 10 |
| 2000s | 4,273 thousands | 3,792 thousands | 4,812 thousands | 10 |
| 2010s | 5,549 thousands | 4,952 thousands | 6,154 thousands | 10 |
| 2020s | 6,729 thousands | 6,310 thousands | 7,190 thousands | 6 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More population data for Nigeria
- Population growth rate by level of development 0.023 (2100)
- Projected population under age 5 32.05 million (2100)
- Population density 523.46 (2100)
- Population growth rate 0.023 (2100)
- Fertility and wanted fertility 4.38 (2024)
- Refugee population by country or territory of asylum 96,387 (2024)
- Fertility vs unmet contraception 4.38 (2024)
- Fertility vs contraception 4.38 (2024)
- Natural population growth 2.12 (2023)
- Fertility rate with projections 4.48 (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is population aged 65 years or older in Nigeria?
- Population aged 65 years or older in Nigeria was 7,190 thousands in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest population aged 65 years or older recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 7,190 thousands in 2025.
- What is the lowest population aged 65 years or older recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 1,819 thousands in 1970.
- How does Nigeria rank for population aged 65 years or older?
- Nigeria ranks 24th out of 230 countries with data for 2025.
- Is population aged 65 years or older rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 28.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Nigeria data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Population aged 65 years or older (thousands). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV Β· JSON β 56 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release