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Nobody knows Nigeria's population, roughly speaking

لا أحد يعرف عدد سكان نيجيريا على وجه الدقة

2026-07-26

Nigeria is Africa's most populous country. How populous is a surprisingly open question. The last census was 2006, the next has been postponed repeatedly, and estimates from different agencies span a range wider than the entire population of Ghana.

Counting is political: census numbers feed straight into revenue allocation and parliamentary seats, so every figure has constituencies for and against it.

Satellite-based estimates like WorldPop's suggest some official state numbers run high. Until a census lands, Nigeria's line on any dashboard, ours included, deserves a wide error bar.