Statizoid

Population in Nigeria

Nigeria: Population was 227.88 million people in 2023. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2023)
227.88 million people
Change on year
up 2.1%
World rank
6th
of 238 countries
All-time high
227.88 million people
in 2023
All-time low
7.00 million people
in 1000
Years of data
241
1000–2023

Population in Nigeria, 1000–2023

050.0M100.0M150.0M200.0M250.0M100015112023

Source: HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.

Analysis

The most recent figure for population in Nigeria is 227.88 million people, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 241 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.1% on the previous year and up 25.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, population in Nigeria peaked at 227.88 million people in 2023 and was at its lowest, 7.00 million people, in 1000.

Nigeria ranks 6th of 238 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1000s 7.00 million people 7.00 million people 7.00 million people 1
1100s 7.50 million people 7.50 million people 7.50 million people 1
1200s 8.00 million people 8.00 million people 8.00 million people 1
1300s 9.00 million people 9.00 million people 9.00 million people 1
1400s 10.00 million people 10.00 million people 10.00 million people 1
1500s 11.00 million people 11.00 million people 11.00 million people 1
1600s 14.00 million people 14.00 million people 14.00 million people 1
1700s 18.00 million people 18.00 million people 18.00 million people 1
1710s 18.80 million people 18.80 million people 18.80 million people 1
1720s 18.94 million people 18.94 million people 18.94 million people 1
1730s 19.09 million people 19.09 million people 19.09 million people 1
1740s 19.24 million people 19.24 million people 19.24 million people 1
1750s 19.41 million people 19.41 million people 19.41 million people 1
1760s 19.58 million people 19.58 million people 19.58 million people 1
1770s 19.77 million people 19.77 million people 19.77 million people 1
1780s 19.96 million people 19.96 million people 19.96 million people 1
1790s 20.18 million people 20.18 million people 20.18 million people 1
1800s 12.10 million people 12.10 million people 12.10 million people 10
1810s 12.10 million people 12.10 million people 12.11 million people 10
1820s 12.31 million people 12.13 million people 12.52 million people 10
1830s 12.78 million people 12.56 million people 12.99 million people 10
1840s 13.26 million people 13.04 million people 13.49 million people 10
1850s 13.86 million people 13.54 million people 14.19 million people 10
1860s 14.63 million people 14.26 million people 15.00 million people 10
1870s 15.54 million people 15.09 million people 16.01 million people 10
1880s 16.68 million people 16.12 million people 17.26 million people 10
1890s 17.94 million people 17.38 million people 18.51 million people 10
1900s 19.53 million people 18.66 million people 20.44 million people 10
1910s 21.65 million people 20.66 million people 22.66 million people 10
1920s 24.56 million people 22.93 million people 26.33 million people 10
1930s 28.62 million people 26.74 million people 30.59 million people 10
1940s 33.68 million people 31.09 million people 36.47 million people 10
1950s 40.63 million people 37.28 million people 44.16 million people 10
1960s 49.66 million people 45.05 million people 54.63 million people 10
1970s 63.02 million people 55.89 million people 71.50 million people 10
1980s 83.95 million people 73.76 million people 94.53 million people 10
1990s 109.65 million people 97.12 million people 123.05 million people 10
2000s 143.50 million people 126.38 million people 162.05 million people 10
2010s 188.20 million people 166.64 million people 209.49 million people 10
2020s 220.89 million people 214.00 million people 227.88 million people 4

Countries ranked near Nigeria

  1. 3 United States 343.48 million people compare
  2. 4 Indonesia 281.19 million people compare
  3. 5 Pakistan 247.50 million people compare
  4. 7 Brazil 211.14 million people compare
  5. 8 Bangladesh 171.47 million people compare
  6. 9 Russia 145.44 million people compare

See the full ranking of 239 places →

More population data for Nigeria

All data for Nigeria →

Frequently asked questions

What is population in Nigeria?
Population in Nigeria was 227.88 million people in 2023, according to HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest population recorded in Nigeria?
The highest recorded value was 227.88 million people in 2023.
What is the lowest population recorded in Nigeria?
The lowest recorded value was 7.00 million people in 1000.
How does Nigeria rank for population?
Nigeria ranks 6th out of 238 countries with data for 2023.
Is population rising or falling in Nigeria?
Over the last ten years it is up 25.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Nigeria data come from?
The figures come from HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 241 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Population
Unit
people
Source
HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
239 places, 51,002 data points, 1000–2023
Last refreshed

Population by country, available from 10,000 BCE to 2023, based on data and estimates from different sources.