Urban population growth in Nigeria
Nigeria: Urban population growth was 3.3% in 2025. βΌ Falling
Urban population growth in Nigeria, 1961β2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
Nigeria recorded 3.3% for urban population growth in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 65 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.1% on the previous year and down 16.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population growth in Nigeria peaked at 6.0% in 1978 and was at its lowest, 3.3%, in 2025.
Nigeria ranks 36th of 217 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 5.7% | 5.5% | 5.9% | 9 |
| 1970s | 5.8% | 5.6% | 6.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 5.3% | 5.0% | 5.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.7% | 4.6% | 4.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.6% | 4.4% | 4.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.0% | 3.6% | 4.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.4% | 3.3% | 3.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More climate change data for Nigeria
- Emissions from livestock β Emissions (CO2eq) 66,810 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock β Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 24,814 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock β Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 41,996 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock β Emissions 93.64 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock β Emissions 1,500 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops β Emissions (CO2eq) 22,614 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops β Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 7,292 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops β Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 15,322 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops β Emissions 27.52 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops β Emissions 547.2 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population growth in Nigeria?
- Urban population growth in Nigeria was 3.3% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population growth recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 6.0% in 1978.
- What is the lowest urban population growth recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.3% in 2025.
- How does Nigeria rank for urban population growth?
- Nigeria ranks 36th out of 217 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population growth rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 16.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nigeria data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban population growth (annual %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV Β· JSON β 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Annual urban population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear urban population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank total population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects.