Demographics
Main article: Demographics of Nigeria
Population density in Nigeria
| Population in Nigeria[133] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Million | ||
| 1971 | 55 | ||
| 1980 | 71 | ||
| 1990 | 95 | ||
| 2000 | 125 | ||
| 2004 | 138 | ||
| 2008 | 151 | ||
The United Nations estimates that the population in 2009 was at 154,729,000, distributed as 51.7% rural and 48.3% urban, and with a population density of 167.5 people per square kilometre. National census results in the past few decades have been disputed. The results of the most recent census were released in December 2006 and gave a population of 140,003,542. The only breakdown available was by gender: males numbered 71,709,859, females numbered 68,293,08. On June 2012, President Goodluck Jonathan said that Nigerians should limit their number of children.[136]
According to the United Nations, Nigeria has been undergoing explosive population growth and has one of the highest growth and fertility rates in the world. By their projections, Nigeria is one of eight countries expected to account collectively for half of the world's total population increase from 2005–2050.[137] By 2100 the UN estimates that the Nigerian population will be between 505 million and 1.03 billion people (middle estimate: 730 million).[138] In 1950, Nigeria had only 33 million people.[139]
One in four Africans is a Nigerian.[140] Presently, Nigeria is the seventh most populous country in the world. 2006 estimates claim 42.3% of the population is between 0–14 years of age, while 54.6% is between 15–65; the birth rate is significantly higher than the death rate, at 40.4 and 16.9 per 1000 people respectively.[141]
Nigeria's largest city is Lagos. Lagos has grown from about 300,000 in 1950[142] to an estimated 15 million today.[143]
|
|
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Name | State | Pop. | ||||||
 Lagos  Kano |
1 | Lagos | Lagos | 8,048,430 | |||||
| 2 | Kano | Kano | 2,828,861 | ||||||
| 3 | Ibadan | Oyo | 2,559,853 | ||||||
| 4 | Benin City | Edo | 1,147,188 | ||||||
| 5 | Jos | Plateau | 821,618 | ||||||
| 6 | Ilorin | Kwara | 777,667 | ||||||
| 7 | Kaduna | Kaduna | 760,084 | ||||||
| 8 | Abuja | FCT | 776,298 | ||||||
| 9 | Enugu | Enugu | 722,664 | ||||||
| 10 | Warri | Delta | 557,398 | ||||||
Ethnic groups
 |
 |
 |
| A Hausa harpist | Igbo men | Yoruba drummers |
The middle belt of Nigeria is known for its diversity of ethnic groups, including the Pyem, Goemai, and Kofyar. The official population count of each of Nigeria's ethnicities has always remained controversial and disputed as members of different ethnic groups believe the census is rigged to give a particular group (usually believed to be northern groups) numerical superiority.[101][146][147]
There are small minorities of British, American, East Indian, Chinese (est. 50,000),[148] white Zimbabwean,[149] Japanese, Greek, Syrian and Lebanese immigrants in Nigeria. Immigrants also include those from other West African or East African nations. These minorities mostly reside in major cities such as Lagos and Abuja, or in the Niger Delta as employees for the major oil companies. A number of Cubans settled in Nigeria as political refugees following the Cuban Revolution.
In the middle of the 19th century, a number of ex-slaves of Afro-Cuban and Afro-Brazilian descent[150] and emigrants from Sierra Leone established communities in Lagos and other regions of Nigeria. Many ex-slaves came to Nigeria following the emancipation of slaves in the Americas. Many of the immigrants, sometimes called Saros (immigrants from Sierra Leone) and Amaro (ex-slaves from Brazil)[151] later became prominent merchants and missionaries in these cities.
Languages
Main article: Languages of Nigeria
Map of Nigeria's linguistic groups
Women in north Nigeria
In some areas of Nigeria, ethnic groups speak more than one language. The official language of Nigeria, English, was chosen to facilitate the cultural and linguistic unity of the country, owing to the influence of British colonisation that ended in 1960.
Many French speakers from surrounding countries have influenced the English spoken in the border regions of Nigeria and some Nigerian citizens have become fluent enough in French to work in the surrounding countries. The French spoken in Nigeria may be mixed with some native languages but is mostly spoken like the French spoken in Benin. French may also be mixed with English as it is in Cameroon. Most of the population speaks English and their native language.
The major languages spoken in Nigeria represent three major families of languages of Africa: the majority are Niger-Congo languages, such as Igbo, Yoruba and Fulfulde; Kanuri, spoken in the northeast, primarily in Borno and Yobe State, is part of the Nilo-Saharan family; and Hausa is an Afroasiatic language.
Even though most ethnic groups prefer to communicate in their own languages, English as the official language is widely used for education, business transactions and for official purposes. English as a first language is used only by a small minority of the country's urban elite, and it is not spoken at all in some rural areas. Hausa is the most widely spoken of the 3 main languages spoken in Nigeria itself (Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba) but unlike the Yorubas and Igbos, the Hausas tend not to travel far outside Nigeria itself.[citation needed]
With the majority of Nigeria's populace in the rural areas, the major languages of communication in the country remain indigenous languages. Some of the largest of these, notably Yoruba and Igbo, have derived standardised languages from a number of different dialects and are widely spoken by those ethnic groups. Nigerian Pidgin English, often known simply as 'Pidgin' or 'Broken' (Broken English), is also a popular lingua franca, though with varying regional influences on dialect and slang. The pidgin English or Nigerian English is widely spoken within the Niger Delta Regions, predominately in Warri, Sapele, Port Harcourt, Agenebode, Ewu, and Benin City.[152]
Religion
Main article: Religion in Nigeria
Islam dominated the north and had a number of supporters in the South Western, Yoruba part of the country. Nigeria has the largest Muslim population in sub-Saharan Africa. Protestantism and local syncretic Christianity are also in evidence in Yoruba areas, while Roman Catholicism is more prominent in south eastern Nigeria. Both Protestantism and Roman Catholicism dominated in the Ibibio, Annang, and the Efik kiosa lands.
The 1963 census indicated that 47% of Nigerians were Muslim, 35% Christian, and 18% members of local indigenous congregations. If accurate, this indicated a sharp increase since 1953 in the number of Christians (up 23%); a decline among those professing indigenous beliefs, compared with 20%; and only a modest (6%) drop of Muslims which can likely be attributed to immigration, emigration, and birthrate.
The vast majority of Muslims in Nigeria are Sunni belonging to Maliki school of jurisprudence; however, a sizeable minority also belongs to Shafi madhhab. A large number of Sunni Muslims are members of Sufi brotherhoods. Most Sufis follow the Qadiriyya, Tijaniyyah and/or the Mouride movements. A significant Shia minority exists (see Shia in Nigeria). Some northern states have incorporated Sharia law into their previously secular legal systems, which has brought about some controversy.[154] Kano State has sought to incorporate Sharia law into its constitution.[155] The majority of Quranists follow the Kalo Kato or Quraniyyun movement. There are also Ahmadiyya and Mahdiyya minorities.[156]
According to a 2001 report[157] from The World Factbook by CIA, about 50% of Nigeria's population is Muslim, 40% are Christians and 10% adhere to local religions.[158] But in some recent report, the Christian population is now sightly larger than the Muslim population. An 18 December 2012 report on religion and public life by the Pew Research Center stated that in 2010, 49.3 percent of Nigeria's population was Christian, 48.8 percent was Muslim, and 1.9 percent were followers of indigenous and other religions, or unaffiliated.[159] Additionally, the 2010s census of Association of Religion Data Archives has reported that 46.5 percent of the total population is Christian, slightly bigger than the Muslim population of 45.5 percent, and that 7.7 percent are members of other religious groups.[160]
The 2010 census of Association of Religion Data Archives has also reported that 46.5% of the total population was Christian, slightly larger than the Muslim population of 45.5%, while 7.7% were members of other religions.[160] However, these estimates should be taken with caution because sample data is mostly collected from major urban areas in the south, which are predominantly Christian.[161][162][163]
Among Christians, the Pew Research survey found that 74% were Protestant, 25% were Catholic, and 1% belonged to other Christian denominations, including a small Orthodox Christian community.[164] In terms of Nigeria's major ethnic groups, the Hausa ethnic group (predominant in the north) was found to be 95% Muslim and 5% Christian, the Yoruba tribe (predominant in the west) was 55% Muslim, 35% Christian and 10% adherents of other religions, while the Igbos (predominant in the east) and the Ijaw (south) were 98% Christian, with 2% practising traditional religions.[165] The middle belt of Nigeria contains the largest number of minority ethnic groups in Nigeria, who were found to be mostly Christians and members of traditional religions, with a small proportion of Muslims.[166][167]
Leading Protestant churches in the country include the Church of Nigeria of the Anglican Communion, the Assemblies of God Church, the Nigerian Baptist Convention and The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations Since the 1990s, there has been significant growth in many other churches, particularly the evangelical Protestant ones. These include the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Winners' Chapel, Christ Apostolic Church (the first Aladura Movement in Nigeria), Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Evangelical Church of West Africa, Mountain of Fire and Miracles, Christ Embassy and The Synagogue Church Of All Nations. In addition, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Aladura Church, the Seventh-day Adventist and various indigenous churches have also experienced growth.[168][169]
The Yoruba area contains a large Anglican population, while Igboland is predominantly Roman Catholic and the Edo area is composed predominantly of members of the Pentecostal Assemblies of God, which was introduced into Nigeria by Augustus Ehurie Wogu and his associates at Old Umuahia.
Further, Nigeria has become an African hub for the Grail Movement and the Hare Krishnas,[170] and the largest temple of the Eckankar religion is in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, with a total capacity of 10,000.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) announced creation of new Owerri mission in Nigeria in 2016.[171]
Health
Further information: Health in Nigeria
A hospital in Abuja, Nigeria's capital
HIV/AIDS rate in Nigeria is much lower compared to the other African nations such as Kenya or South Africa whose prevalence (percentage) rates are in the double digits. As of 2012, the HIV prevalence rate among adults ages 15–49 was just 3.1 percent.[175][176] As of 2014, life expectancy in Nigeria is 52.62 years on average according to CIA,[177] and just over half the population have access to potable water and appropriate sanitation; As of 2010, the Infant mortality is 8.4 deaths per 1000 live births.[178]
New HIV infections each year, and AIDS deaths occurring during the year in Nigeria.
The Nigerian health care system is continuously faced with a shortage of doctors known as 'brain drain', because of emigration by skilled Nigerian doctors to North America and Europe. In 1995, it was estimated that 21,000 Nigerian doctors were practising in the United States alone, which is about the same as the number of doctors working in the Nigerian public service. Retaining these expensively trained professionals has been identified as one of the goals of the government.[186]
No comments:
Post a Comment