Nigeria will start its first national census in 17 years at the end of March, as authorities in Africa’s most populous country seek updated data on the exact population and the size of different ethnic groups, an official said late on Friday.
Nigeria’s estimated population is more than 200 million and the United Nations expects that to double by 2050. That would make Nigeria the world’s third most populous country, overtaking the United States.
Nigeria will start its first national census in 17 years at the end of March, as authorities in Africa’s most populous country seek updated data on the exact population and the size of different ethnic groups, an official said late on Friday.
Nigeria’s estimated population is more than 200 million and the United Nations expects that to double by 2050. That would make Nigeria the world’s third most populous country, overtaking the United States.
Nigeria initially planned the census in 2021 but authorities postponed the process on the grounds of widespread insecurity, especially in the north where an Islamist insurgency and kidnappings for ransom have been raging.
