Nigeria Population Pyramid 1981
Nigeria in 1981
In 1981, Nigeria had a total population of 76,068,104 people. A decade earlier, in 1971, the population was 57,214,684; it has grown by 33.0% since.
With a median age of 17.7 years, Nigeria had a youth dependency ratio of 86.1 and an old-age dependency ratio of 6.1 per 100 people of working age. The pyramid is expansive: its wide base of young cohorts reflects high fertility and a rapidly growing population.
Data source: United Nations World Population Prospects, 2024 revision (medium variant) — last updated July 2024.
In 2023 women in Nigeria had on average 4.48 children, above the replacement level of 2.1.
Source: World Bank World Development Indicators, latest available year.
A child born there in 2023 could expect to live 54.5 years on average (54.7 years for girls, 54.2 for boys).
Source: World Bank World Development Indicators, latest available year.
1,262,314 immigrants live in Nigeria, 0.5% of the population.
| Benin | 404,468 |
| Ghana | 255,531 |
| Mali | 184,965 |
| Togo | 169,717 |
| Niger | 129,540 |
2,094,162 people born in Nigeria live in other countries.
| United States of America | 565,053 |
| United Kingdom | 324,007 |
| Niger | 199,722 |
| Cameroon | 188,266 |
| Italy | 112,792 |
Source: United Nations International Migrant Stock 2024.
| Country | Population | Median age | Relative size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | 76,068,104 | 17.7 | |
| Ghana | 12,281,712 | 16.7 | |
| Côte d'Ivoire | 8,556,597 | 16.4 | |
| Mali | 7,692,766 | 17.9 | |
| Burkina Faso | 7,140,271 | 17.5 |





