Nigeria: Population and Key Statistics

AfricaCapital: Abuja#6 by population

With 232.7 million people, Nigeria is by far the most populous country in Africa and the sixth most populous in the world. Its median age of just 17.9 makes it one of the youngest large societies on earth, and UN projections expect it to become the world's third most populous country by 2050.

One of Africa's largest oil producers, Nigeria saw the major currency devaluation of 2023-2024 cut its dollar-denominated GDP to roughly $200 billion, costing it the title of the continent's largest economy. With more than 15 million residents, Lagos is one of Africa's biggest metropolitan areas, while the "Nollywood" film industry ranks among the world's largest by number of productions.

Population (2025)
237.5 million
237,527,782 people
GDP (2025)
$291bn
nominal, current US dollars
GDP per capita
$1,224
Life expectancy
54.6
years
Area
923,770
km²
Population density
257
people/km²
Median age
17.9
Internet usage
41.2%

Military Strength

Military expenditure (2024)
$1.1bn
1,133 million dollars
Share of GDP
0.56%
NATO guideline: 2%
Share of government spending
3.07%
Spending per capita
$5
per year, per person
Armed forces (2020)
223 thousand
223,000 active personnel
Armed forces per 1,000 people
0.9
0.23% of the labor force

Expenditure figures come from SIPRI and personnel counts from the IISS, both distributed through the World Bank. Source years differ by indicator, so each figure is shown with its own year.

How Nigeria compares

Nigeria and South Africa — core indicators
02 b4 b6 b8 bGDP per capita ($)Life expectancy (years)Internet usage (%)GDP per capita ($) — Nigeria: 1.224Life expectancy (years) — Nigeria: 54,6Internet usage (%) — Nigeria: 41,2GDP per capita ($) — South Africa: 6.598Life expectancy (years) — South Africa: 66,3Internet usage (%) — South Africa: 78,4
NigeriaSouth Africa

The indicators use different scales, so the chart is a rough visual comparison only. For exact figures see the full side-by-side comparison.

Data sourcesPopulation and social indicators: UN World Population Prospects, World BankEconomy: IMF World Economic Outlook, World BankMilitary: SIPRI and IISS, distributed through the World BankLast refreshed: 2026-08-26