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Nigeria — Population growth
Population Growth (Annual %) for Nigeria, 1961–2025.
Latest value · 2025
2.06%
Population Growth (Annual %) · annual % · +0.3% since 1961
Population growth for Nigeria was 2.06% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 65 years, from 1961 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 3.12% in 1980. The lowest was 2.06% in 1961 (about 1.0× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to 0.01% per year.
Nigeria ranks 45 of 217 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 21%. The median for Sub-Saharan Africa is 2.30%, so Nigeria sits below it. It peaked in 1980 and has fallen 34% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 19%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
2.06%
First (1961)
2.06%
Change
+0.3%
Highest
3.12%
in 1980
Lowest
2.06%
in 1961
Average
2.56%
Annual growth (CAGR)
0.01%
Years of data
65
Recent years
| Year | annual % |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 2.06% |
| 2024 | 2.08% |
| 2023 | 2.1% |
| 2022 | 2.09% |
| 2021 | 2.1% |
| 2020 | 2.13% |
| 2019 | 2.19% |
| 2018 | 2.31% |
| 2017 | 2.43% |
| 2016 | 2.47% |
| 2015 | 2.54% |
| 2014 | 2.64% |
Reading this correctly. Annual population growth rate. A negative value means the population shrank, usually through emigration or low birth rates. Figures are in annual %. Comparing this series with a different measure of the same concept (for example a nominal figure against a purchasing-power-parity figure) will give misleading results.
Related data
Source. World Bank Open Data, indicator
SP.POP.GROW — Population Growth (Annual %). Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.