Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Nigeria
Nigeria: Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 43.76 million people in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Nigeria, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
The most recent figure for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Nigeria is 43.76 million people, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
That represents a change of up 61.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Nigeria peaked at 43.76 million people in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0 people, in 1950.
Nigeria ranks 9th of 182 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0 people | 0 people | 0 people | 2 |
| 1960s | 1.47 million people | 1.25 million people | 1.69 million people | 2 |
| 1970s | 2.31 million people | 2.01 million people | 2.61 million people | 2 |
| 1980s | 7.73 million people | 6.66 million people | 8.81 million people | 2 |
| 1990s | 12.02 million people | 11.02 million people | 13.01 million people | 2 |
| 2000s | 20.09 million people | 18.57 million people | 21.61 million people | 2 |
| 2010s | 31.91 million people | 27.15 million people | 36.67 million people | 2 |
| 2020s | 43.76 million people | 43.76 million people | 43.76 million people | 1 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More reference data data for Nigeria
- Spring temperature anomalies 0.3216 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.3105 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 1.8 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.4187 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 1.76 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 860.32 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 0 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Nigeria?
- Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Nigeria was 43.76 million people in 2020, according to European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 43.76 million people in 2020.
- What is the lowest number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 people in 1950.
- How does Nigeria rank for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
- Nigeria ranks 9th out of 182 countries with data for 2020.
- Is number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 61.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Nigeria data come from?
- The figures come from European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Total population living in cities with 1 million or more people. City boundaries are defined using a consistent global approach based on satellite imagery and population data.