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

the two census years, 1991 and 2006 (the latter figure was provided by the
Official Gazette of the Federal Government of February 2009). Therefore, the
country has one of the fastest growing populations in the world. If the growth
rate is sustained, Nigeria will double its population within only 22 to 25 years,
depending on which of the two growth rates is applied.
Fertility rate
The high population growth rate is mostly due to a high fertility level.
Nigeria records a high birth rate, which was 39.98 births per 1,000 people
in 2008 (Library of Congress, 2008). Also, the total fertility rate is high; yet it
decreased from 6.9 children per woman in 1970–75 to 5.8 in 2000–2005 (UNDP,
2008) and further still to an estimated 5.3 in 2005–2010 (UNDP, 2009). The high
total fertility rate suggests that the population growth rate will remain high for
some time to come, since the mothers of tomorrow have already been born.
Mortality rate
On the other hand, the crude death rate 6 has been low, with 16.41 deaths
per 1,000 people by 2008. The infant mortality rate 7 is, however, more revealing
of the deplorable health of the most vulnerable group: infants. Though
declining, the infant mortality rate has always remained high. It was estimated
at 133.3 per 1,000 live births in 1990–1995, but dropped to 113.8 per 1,000
live births in 2000–2005. Since then, it has been estimated that the situation is
to further improve, with 109.4 deaths per 1,000 live births by the end of 2010
(UNPD, 2008).
Also, the under-five mortality rate has been high at 221 and 187 per
1,000 live births in 1990–1995 and 2005–2010, respectively (UNPD, 2008). The
high maternal mortality rate, which was 1,100 per 100,000 live births in 2000,
completes the dismal health condition of the more vulnerable groups in the
country (UNDP, 2008).
Net migration
The estimated numbers of international migrants were 447,411 (1990),
751,126 (2000) and 972,126 (2005), as indicated in Table 12 (see annex).
However, over the years, the net migration rate has been negative, at -0.2, -0.2
and -0.3 per 1,000 people in 1995, 2000 and 2005, respectively. In essence, these
6 The crude death rate is the ratio of the number of deaths to the total population of the country.
7 The infant mortality rate is the percentage of deaths of infants under one year old in a given year per 1,000
live births in the same year.
36 <strong>Migration</strong> in Nigeria: A Country <strong>Profile</strong> 2009