Migration Profile on Nigeria - IOM Publications - International ...

parT b: analysis of the socio-economic context
of migration
b.1 Demographic changes
The human resources of Nigeria are another measure of the level of
development of the country. Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa
and one of the ten most populous in the world. Its population volume has
been increasing tremendously, from 88.99 million in 1991 (NPC, 1991) to an
estimated volume of 126.2 million (2003), 129.9 million (2004), 133.5 million
(2005) and 140 million by 2006 (CBN, 2007a). The latest estimate put it at
146.26 million in 2008 (Library of Congress, 2008). The statistics in the relevant
portions of Tables 10 and 11 (see annex) and Table 2 show the rapid growth in
population.
Table 2: Population of Nigeria by age and sex, 2008
Age group Male Female Both sexes
0–14 31,171,949 29,806,204 60,978,153
15–64 41,243,003 39,611,565 80,854,568
65+ 2,152,318 2,270,267 4,422,585
Total 74,567,270 71,688,036 146,255,306
Source: Library of Congress, 2008.
Population age distribution by sex
The age distribution shows that Nigeria has a youthful population, as
depicted in Figure 2; with 44.94, 51.79 and 3.27 per cent of the total population
in age groups 0–14, 15–64 and 65+, respectively, in 1991. Also, Figure 8 (see
annex) (NBS, 2006a) indicates the distribution by age groups of Nigerians and
foreigners in 1991. The 2008 data show that the percentages for the same age
groups are 41.69, 55.58 and 3.02, respectively.
In terms of gender balance, the differences in distribution are not too
wide, with 41.80/41.58 for males/females aged 0–14, 55.31/55.25 for the
15–64-years-olds, and 2.89/3.17 per cent for the over 65-year-olds in 2008
(Library of Congress, 2008).
<strong>Migration</strong> in Nigeria: A Country <strong>Profile</strong> 2009
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