Interesting facts about Nigeria population census

The population of Nigeria keeps growing ever since the first Nigerian population census was conducted, which happened in the 1960s. What are the latest figures reported on the population distribution by states in Nigeria?

Population of Nigeria

As stated by NPC (National Population Commission), Nigeria is the most populated African country. It has reached approximately 196 million people in 2018, according to such sources as worldpopulationreview.com and worldometers.info, and the population keeps increasing.

NPC, on its hand, states that every year the population of Nigeria grows at the rate of over 6 percent. The government expects that the number of births will continue to exceed the number of deaths. If this dynamic is preserved in the next years, the growth will continue even though many Nigerians choose to migrate to foreign countries and this situation worsens every other year.

Take a look at the official statistics of population distribution by states in Nigeria available up-to-date.

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Nigeria population census

The most recent official document regarding the population of Nigeria by states was shared by National Bureau of Statistics in 2013. This document is titled ‘Annual Abstract of Statistics, 2011’, and you can see that it covers details up to 2011. You can find this and all other documents created by NBS at its official website http://www.nigerianstat.gov.ng/.

The latest population census was conducted in 2006. Then there were some expectations voiced for 2010, so we can only rely on this data and share population distribution by states and regions in Nigeria.

The population of Nigeria by states

As we all know, there are 36 Nigerian states. The total population of Nigeria, according to 2006 census, was 140 million people. So how many people lived in each state, based on NPC population census from 2006?

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Southeastern part of the country:

• Anambra – 4.2 million
• Imo – 3.9 million
• Enugu – 3.3 million
• Abia – 2.8 million
• Ebonyi – 2.2 million

South of Nigeria:

• Rivers – 5.2 million
• Delta – 4.1 million
• Akwa-Ibom – 3.9 million
• Edo – 3.2 million
• Cross-River – 2.9 million
• Ekiti – 2.4 million
• Bayelsa – 1.7 million

Southwestern territories:

• Lagos – 9 million
• Oyo – 5.6 million
• Ondo – 3.6 million
• Ogun – 3.6 million
• Osun – 3.4 million

Northcentral areas:

• Benue – 4.2 million
• Niger – 3.9 million
• Kogi – 3.3 million
• Plateau – 3.2 million
• Kwara – 2.4 million
• Nasarawa – 1.9 million

Northeastern states:

• Bauchi – 4.7 million
• Borno – 4.2 million
• Adamawa – 3.2 million
• Gombe – 2.3 million
• Yobe – 2.3 million
• Taraba – 2.3 million

Northwestern territories:

• Kano – 9.4 million
• Kaduna – 6.1 million
• Katsina – 5.8 million
• Jigawa – 4.3 million
• Sokoto – 3.7 million
• Zamfara – 3.3 million
• Kebbi – 3.2 million

The population of Lagos State

As noted in the census from 2006, the population of Lagos State was slightly over 9 million people. Based on the details provided by National Population Commission, the number of male and female who live in Lagos State is pretty similar. From 9 million people, there were over 4.7 million males and 4.3 million females.

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Population growth

When National Bureau of Statistics published its report on the population distribution by states in Nigeria back in 2013, it offered some expectations on how the Nigeria population could grow by 2010 and real numbers.

We can share some interesting numbers from December 2010 to show how the population numbers changed since 2006. These numbers were also published in the ‘Annual Abstract of Statistics, 2011’ document.

1. Anambra – 4.2 million from 2006 grew to 4.7 million in 2010
2. Imo – 3.9 million from 2006 raised to 4.5 million in 2010
3. Enugu – 3.3 million from 2006 reached 3.7 million mark in 2010
4. Abia – 2.8 million from 2006 grew to 3.2 million in 2010
5. Ebonyi – 2.2 million reported in 2006 raised to 2.5 million people in 2010
6. Rivers – 5.2 million from 2006 increased to nearly 5.9 million in 2010
7. Delta – 4.1 million raised to nearly 4.7 million in 2010
8. Akwa-Ibom – 3.9 million from 2006 increased to 4.2 million in 2010
9. Edo – 3.2 million accounted in 2006 raised to 3.7 million in 2010
10. Cross-River – 2.9 million from 2006 changed to nearly 3.3 million 4 years later
11. Bayelsa – 1.7 million from 2006 slightly grew by 200,000 people, and the population here reached 1.9 million in 2010
12. Lagos – 9 million from 2006 grew to 10.3 million by the end of 2010
13. Benue – 4.2 million from 2006 increased to 4.8 million within the next four years
14. Niger – 3.9 million from 2006 changed to nearly 4.5 million in 2010
15. Kogi – 3.3 million from 2006 raised to over 3.7 million in 2010
16. Plateau – 3.2 million from 2006 increased to 3.6 million in 2010
17. Kwara – 2.4 million from 2006 grew to 2.7 million in 2010
18. Nasarawa – 1.9 million from 2006 upraised to 2.1 million in the next 4 years
19. Bauchi – 4.7 million from 2006 increased to nearly to 5.3 million people in 2010
20. Borno – 4.2 million from 2006 grew to 4.7 million people in 2010
21. Adamawa – 3.2 million from 2006 grew to 3.6 million in 2010
22. Gombe – 2.3 million stated in 2006 increased to 2.6 million in 2010
23. Yobe – 2.3 million from 2006 raised to 2.6 million by end of 2010
24. Taraba – 2.3 million from 2006 changed to 2.6 million in 2010
25. Kano – 9.4 million reported in 2006 grew to nearly 10.1 million in 2010
26. Kaduna – 6.1 million in 2006 raised to nearly 7 million by the end of 2010
27. Katsina – 5.8 million counted in 2006 grew to nearly 6.6 million in 2010
28. Jigawa – 4.3 million in 2006 enlarged to nearly 5 million in 2010
29. Sokoto – 3.7 million from 2006 raised to 4.2 million by end of 2010
30. Zamfara – 3.3 million from 2006 enlarged to 3.7 million in 2010
31. Kebbi – 3.2 million from 2006 increased to nearly 3.7 million by the end of 2010
32. Ekiti – 2.4 million from 2006 enlarged to 2.7 million in 2010
33. Ogun – 3.6 million from 2006 increased to nearly 4.3 million in 2010
34. Ondo – 3.6 million from 2006 increased to nearly 4 million by the end of 2010
35. Osun – 3.4 million from 2006 grew to 3.9 million in 2010
36. Oyo – 5.6 million from 2006 raised to 6.3 million in 2010
37. Capital Abuja – 1.4 million from 2006 to 1.6 million in 2010

As you can see, the fastest growing states (based on data from 2006-2010) are Lagos (+1.3 million within four years), Kano (+0.7 million within four years), and Kaduna (+0.9 million within four years). Others grew by 0.2 - 0.8 million within the same period.

The 2016 census was postponed till this year, will it take place in 2018 or not? We don’t know the answer to this question, but we’ll keep an eye on official announcements and new numbers.

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Source: Naija.ng