Number of children under 15, by world region in Nigeria

Nigeria: Number of children under 15, by world region was 94.55 million people in 2023. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2023)
94.55 million people
Change on year
up 1.0%
World rank
3rd
of 236 countries
All-time high
94.55 million people
in 2023
All-time low
15.56 million people
in 1950
Years of data
74
1950–2023

Number of children under 15, by world region in Nigeria, 1950–2023

20.0M40.0M60.0M80.0M100.0M195019862023

Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.

Analysis

The most recent figure for number of children under 15, by world region in Nigeria is 94.55 million people, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.

The figure is up 1.0% on the previous year and up 17.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of children under 15, by world region in Nigeria peaked at 94.55 million people in 2023 and was at its lowest, 15.56 million people, in 1950.

That places Nigeria 3rd out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.

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

Number of children under 15, by world region in Nigeria, year by year

Annual values for Number of children under 15, by world region in Nigeria, 1950 to 2023.
Year people Change
1950 15.56 million people
1951 15.81 million people +1.6%
1952 16.07 million people +1.6%
1953 16.33 million people +1.6%
1954 16.61 million people +1.7%
1955 16.90 million people +1.8%
1956 17.21 million people +1.8%
1957 17.52 million people +1.8%
1958 17.85 million people +1.9%
1959 18.18 million people +1.9%
1960 18.53 million people +1.9%
1961 18.91 million people +2.0%
1962 19.32 million people +2.2%
1963 19.78 million people +2.4%
1964 20.29 million people +2.6%
1965 20.81 million people +2.6%
1966 21.33 million people +2.5%
1967 21.87 million people +2.5%
1968 22.44 million people +2.6%
1969 23.04 million people +2.7%
1970 23.67 million people +2.7%
1971 24.34 million people +2.8%
1972 25.05 million people +2.9%
1973 25.81 million people +3.0%
1974 26.64 million people +3.2%
1975 27.53 million people +3.4%
1976 28.49 million people +3.5%
1977 29.52 million people +3.6%
1978 30.61 million people +3.7%
1979 31.75 million people +3.7%
1980 32.91 million people +3.7%
1981 34.09 million people +3.6%
1982 35.28 million people +3.5%
1983 36.37 million people +3.1%
1984 37.45 million people +3.0%
1985 38.62 million people +3.1%
1986 39.74 million people +2.9%
1987 40.83 million people +2.7%
1988 41.90 million people +2.6%
1989 42.97 million people +2.6%
1990 44.03 million people +2.5%
1991 45.05 million people +2.3%
1992 46.07 million people +2.3%
1993 47.09 million people +2.2%
1994 48.13 million people +2.2%
1995 49.21 million people +2.2%
1996 50.33 million people +2.3%
1997 51.47 million people +2.3%
1998 52.64 million people +2.3%
1999 53.89 million people +2.4%
2000 55.28 million people +2.6%
2001 56.80 million people +2.8%
2002 58.44 million people +2.9%
2003 60.16 million people +2.9%
2004 61.94 million people +3.0%
2005 63.80 million people +3.0%
2006 65.73 million people +3.0%
2007 67.72 million people +3.0%
2008 69.78 million people +3.0%
2009 71.89 million people +3.0%
2010 74.02 million people +3.0%
2011 76.18 million people +2.9%
2012 78.34 million people +2.8%
2013 80.48 million people +2.7%
2014 82.56 million people +2.6%
2015 84.51 million people +2.4%
2016 86.27 million people +2.1%
2017 87.87 million people +1.9%
2018 89.30 million people +1.6%
2019 90.55 million people +1.4%
2020 91.65 million people +1.2%
2021 92.64 million people +1.1%
2022 93.62 million people +1.0%
2023 94.55 million people +1.0%

Nigeria compared with similar countries

  • Nigeria's 94.55 million people is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 3.69 million people, 25.6× the median. (47 countries reporting)
  • Nigeria's 94.55 million people is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 6.08 million people, 15.6× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 16.80 million people 15.56 million people 18.18 million people 10
1960s 20.63 million people 18.53 million people 23.04 million people 10
1970s 27.34 million people 23.67 million people 31.75 million people 10
1980s 38.02 million people 32.91 million people 42.97 million people 10
1990s 48.79 million people 44.03 million people 53.89 million people 10
2000s 63.15 million people 55.28 million people 71.89 million people 10
2010s 83.01 million people 74.02 million people 90.55 million people 10
2020s 93.12 million people 91.65 million people 94.55 million people 4

Countries ranked near Nigeria

  1. 1 India 360.34 million people compare
  2. 2 China 236.00 million people compare
  3. 4 Pakistan 91.67 million people compare
  4. 5 Indonesia 70.11 million people compare
  5. 6 United States 60.43 million people compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More population data for Nigeria

All data for Nigeria →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of children under 15, by world region in Nigeria?
Number of children under 15, by world region in Nigeria was 94.55 million people in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest number of children under 15, by world region recorded in Nigeria?
The highest recorded value was 94.55 million people in 2023.
What is the lowest number of children under 15, by world region recorded in Nigeria?
The lowest recorded value was 15.56 million people in 1950.
How does Nigeria rank for number of children under 15, by world region?
Nigeria ranks 3rd out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is number of children under 15, by world region rising or falling in Nigeria?
Over the last ten years it is up 17.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Nigeria data come from?
The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of children under 15, by world region. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Number of children under 15, by world region in Nigeria. Statizoid, drawing on UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://population.statizoid.com/stat/population-younger-than-15-with-projections/nigeria/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://population.statizoid.com/stat/population-younger-than-15-with-projections/nigeria/">Number of children under 15, by world region in Nigeria</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Number of children under 15, by world region
Unit
people
Source
UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
236 places, 17,464 data points, 1950–2023
Last refreshed

Total population, measured on 1 July of the year shown. This only includes people aged 0-14.