Nigeria Demographics: Median age, Gender, Religion

Median age history and projection chart in
Nigeria vs World

Table

Year	Median age
	Nigeria	World
1960	19.3	22.5
1961	19.3	22.5
1962	19.3	22.4
1963	19.3	22.2
1964	19.3	22
1965	19.3	21.8
1966	19.3	21.7
1967	19.2	21.6
1968	19.2	21.5
1969	19.1	21.5
1970	18.9	21.4
1971	18.8	21.4
1972	18.7	21.5
1973	18.6	21.5
1974	18.5	21.6
1975	18.4	21.7
1976	18.3	21.9
1977	18.2	22
1978	18	22.2
1979	17.9	22.3
1980	17.8	22.5
1981	17.7	22.6
1982	17.6	22.7
1983	17.5	22.9
1984	17.4	23
1985	17.3	23.2
1986	17.3	23.3
1987	17.3	23.4
1988	17.3	23.6
1989	17.3	23.8
1990	17.3	23.9
1991	17.3	24.1
1992	17.4	24.3
1993	17.4	24.5
1994	17.5	24.7
1995	17.6	25
1996	17.6	25.2
1997	17.7	25.4
1998	17.8	25.7
1999	17.9	25.9
2000	17.9	26.1
2001	17.9	26.3
2002	17.9	26.5
2003	17.9	26.7
2004	17.9	27
2005	17.9	27.2
2006	17.9	27.4
2007	17.9	27.6
2008	17.8	27.8
2009	17.8	28
2010	17.8	28.2
2011	17.7	28.4
2012	17.7	28.6
2013	17.7	28.9
2014	17.7	29.1
2015	17.8	29.3
2016	17.8	29.5
2017	17.9	29.8
2018	18	30
2019	18.2	30.3
2020	18.3	30.6
2021	18.5	30.8
2022	18.7	31
2023	18.8	31.3
2024	19	31.6
2025	19.1	31.9
2026	19.4	32.1
2027	19.6	32.3
2028	19.8	32.6
2029	20	32.8
2030	20.3	33
2031	20.5	33.2
2032	20.7	33.4
2033	21	33.6
2034	21.2	33.8
2035	21.5	34
2036	21.7	34.2
2037	22	34.4
2038	22.2	34.6
2039	22.4	34.8
2040	22.7	35
2041	22.9	35.2
2042	23.1	35.4
2043	23.3	35.6
2044	23.5	35.8
2045	23.7	36
2046	24	36.2
2047	24.2	36.4
2048	24.4	36.6
2049	24.7	36.8
2050	24.9	37.1

In 1960, the median age in Nigeria was 19.3 years compared to the world's average of 22.5 years. As of 2024, the median age had decreased to 19 years compared to the world's average of 31.6 years. Ranked 107th for median age 64 years ago (old to young), Nigeria ranks 178th currently.

According to the United Nations projections, the median age in Nigeria is expected to increase to around 24.9 years by 2050. The aging demographics forecast is based on previous years' birth rates and increasing life expectancy.

Nigeria demographic pyramid: age and gender distribution

Table

Age range	Share of population
	Nigeria
	Male	Female
0-4	7.36%	7.18%
5-9	6.93%	6.74%
10-14	6.51%	6.3%
15-19	5.71%	5.5%
20-24	4.78%	4.61%
25-29	3.88%	3.75%
30-34	3.24%	3.14%
35-39	2.76%	2.69%
40-44	2.41%	2.35%
45-49	1.99%	1.96%
50-54	1.52%	1.52%
55-59	1.16%	1.18%
60-64	0.88%	0.93%
65-69	0.63%	0.69%
70-74	0.41%	0.46%
75-79	0.24%	0.27%
80+	0.16%	0.18%

The chart above is a variation of the population pyramid and represents the age and gender structure. Nigeria has high demographic potential with 75.6% of people in the 0-34 age group (ranked 24/196).

Age dependency chart

Table

Year	Age dependency ratio
	Nigeria			World
	Total	Young	Old	Total	Young	Old
1960	80.1%	74.1%	6%	73.5%	64.9%	8.62%
1961	80%	74%	6.03%	73.8%	65.1%	8.67%
1962	80.2%	74.1%	6.06%	74.1%	65.4%	8.73%
1963	80.5%	74.4%	6.1%	74.9%	66.1%	8.79%
1964	81.1%	74.9%	6.12%	75.5%	66.6%	8.85%
1965	81.5%	75.4%	6.13%	75.8%	66.8%	8.93%
1966	82%	75.8%	6.12%	75.9%	66.9%	9%
1967	82.4%	76.3%	6.1%	75.9%	66.8%	9.07%
1968	82.9%	76.8%	6.07%	75.8%	66.6%	9.14%
1969	83.4%	77.4%	6.06%	75.7%	66.5%	9.2%
1970	84%	77.9%	6.04%	75.5%	66.2%	9.26%
1971	84.5%	78.5%	6.03%	75.2%	65.9%	9.33%
1972	85.2%	79.2%	6.03%	74.9%	65.6%	9.39%
1973	85.9%	79.9%	6.03%	74.6%	65.1%	9.46%
1974	86.6%	80.6%	6.03%	74.4%	64.9%	9.54%
1975	87.4%	81.4%	6.03%	74.2%	64.6%	9.64%
1976	88.2%	82.2%	6.03%	74%	64.3%	9.72%
1977	89%	83%	6.04%	73.5%	63.7%	9.79%
1978	89.9%	83.9%	6.04%	72.4%	62.5%	9.84%
1979	90.7%	84.7%	6.05%	71.3%	61.4%	9.88%
1980	91.5%	85.4%	6.05%	70.4%	60.5%	9.89%
1981	92.2%	86.1%	6.07%	69.5%	59.6%	9.85%
1982	92.9%	86.8%	6.09%	68.7%	58.9%	9.79%
1983	93.7%	87.6%	6.11%	67.9%	58.1%	9.72%
1984	94.3%	88.2%	6.13%	67%	57.3%	9.68%
1985	94.7%	88.6%	6.14%	66.3%	56.6%	9.68%
1986	95%	88.8%	6.15%	65.7%	55.9%	9.71%
1987	95%	88.9%	6.14%	65.2%	55.4%	9.75%
1988	94.9%	88.7%	6.13%	64.8%	54.9%	9.81%
1989	94.6%	88.4%	6.11%	64.4%	54.5%	9.89%
1990	94.1%	88%	6.09%	64.2%	54.3%	9.97%
1991	93.5%	87.4%	6.05%	64%	53.9%	10.1%
1992	92.8%	86.8%	6.02%	63.7%	53.6%	10.2%
1993	92%	86%	5.97%	63.5%	53.2%	10.3%
1994	91.2%	85.2%	5.93%	63.1%	52.7%	10.4%
1995	90.5%	84.6%	5.89%	62.7%	52.2%	10.5%
1996	89.8%	84%	5.85%	62.1%	51.5%	10.6%
1997	89.2%	83.4%	5.81%	61.5%	50.8%	10.7%
1998	88.6%	82.8%	5.77%	60.7%	50%	10.7%
1999	88.1%	82.4%	5.73%	60%	49.2%	10.8%
2000	87.9%	82.2%	5.71%	59.3%	48.4%	10.9%
2001	87.9%	82.2%	5.69%	58.5%	47.6%	11%
2002	88%	82.3%	5.68%	57.8%	46.7%	11.1%
2003	88.2%	82.5%	5.68%	57%	45.9%	11.1%
2004	88.4%	82.7%	5.68%	56.3%	45.1%	11.2%
2005	88.7%	83%	5.69%	55.6%	44.3%	11.3%
2006	89%	83.3%	5.69%	55%	43.6%	11.4%
2007	89.4%	83.7%	5.7%	54.5%	43.1%	11.4%
2008	89.7%	84%	5.71%	54.1%	42.6%	11.5%
2009	90%	84.3%	5.72%	53.8%	42.2%	11.6%
2010	90.2%	84.5%	5.73%	53.5%	41.9%	11.6%
2011	90.3%	84.6%	5.74%	53.4%	41.6%	11.8%
2012	90.4%	84.6%	5.73%	53.3%	41.4%	11.9%
2013	90.3%	84.6%	5.7%	53.4%	41.2%	12.1%
2014	90.1%	84.4%	5.67%	53.5%	41.1%	12.4%
2015	89.7%	84.1%	5.64%	53.6%	40.9%	12.7%
2016	89.1%	83.5%	5.61%	53.7%	40.7%	13%
2017	88.1%	82.6%	5.57%	53.9%	40.6%	13.3%
2018	87.1%	81.5%	5.55%	54.1%	40.4%	13.7%
2019	85.9%	80.3%	5.53%	54.2%	40.1%	14%
2020	84.5%	79%	5.5%	54.2%	39.8%	14.4%
2021	83.1%	77.6%	5.48%	54.2%	39.5%	14.7%
2022	81.7%	76.2%	5.47%	54%	39%	15%
2023	80.2%	74.8%	5.46%	53.9%	38.5%	15.4%
2024	78.8%	73.3%	5.45%	53.7%	38%	15.7%

Age dependency is the ratio of people not in the labor force (children under 15 and adults 64+) to people aged 15 to 64. Age dependency in Nigeria decreased from 88.4% to 78.8% between 2004 and 2024 with a decreased share of children and an increased proportion of people aged 65+

Nigeria working age demographic chart

Table

Year	Working age population share
	Nigeria	World
1960	55.5%	57.6%
1961	55.5%	57.5%
1962	55.5%	57.4%
1963	55.4%	57.2%
1964	55.2%	57%
1965	55.1%	56.9%
1966	55%	56.8%
1967	54.8%	56.9%
1968	54.7%	56.9%
1969	54.5%	56.9%
1970	54.4%	57%
1971	54.2%	57.1%
1972	54%	57.2%
1973	53.8%	57.3%
1974	53.6%	57.3%
1975	53.4%	57.4%
1976	53.1%	57.5%
1977	52.9%	57.7%
1978	52.7%	58%
1979	52.4%	58.4%
1980	52.2%	58.7%
1981	52%	59%
1982	51.8%	59.3%
1983	51.6%	59.6%
1984	51.5%	59.9%
1985	51.4%	60.1%
1986	51.3%	60.4%
1987	51.3%	60.5%
1988	51.3%	60.7%
1989	51.4%	60.8%
1990	51.5%	60.9%
1991	51.7%	61%
1992	51.9%	61.1%
1993	52.1%	61.2%
1994	52.3%	61.3%
1995	52.5%	61.5%
1996	52.7%	61.7%
1997	52.8%	61.9%
1998	53%	62.2%
1999	53.2%	62.5%
2000	53.2%	62.8%
2001	53.2%	63.1%
2002	53.2%	63.4%
2003	53.1%	63.7%
2004	53.1%	64%
2005	53%	64.3%
2006	52.9%	64.5%
2007	52.8%	64.7%
2008	52.7%	64.9%
2009	52.6%	65%
2010	52.6%	65.1%
2011	52.5%	65.2%
2012	52.5%	65.2%
2013	52.5%	65.2%
2014	52.6%	65.2%
2015	52.7%	65.1%
2016	52.9%	65.1%
2017	53.2%	65%
2018	53.5%	64.9%
2019	53.8%	64.9%
2020	54.2%	64.8%
2021	54.6%	64.9%
2022	55%	64.9%
2023	55.5%	65%
2024	55.9%	65.1%
2025	56.4%	65.2%
2026	56.9%	65.3%
2027	57.4%	65.4%
2028	57.8%	65.4%
2029	58.3%	65.4%
2030	58.8%	65.4%
2031	59.2%	65.4%
2032	59.5%	65.4%
2033	59.9%	65.4%
2034	60.2%	65.3%
2035	60.4%	65.2%
2036	60.7%	65%
2037	61%	64.9%
2038	61.2%	64.7%
2039	61.5%	64.6%
2040	61.8%	64.5%
2041	62%	64.4%
2042	62.3%	64.3%
2043	62.6%	64.2%
2044	62.8%	64.1%
2045	63.1%	63.9%
2046	63.4%	63.8%
2047	63.7%	63.7%
2048	64%	63.6%
2049	64.3%	63.4%
2050	64.6%	63.3%

The share of working-age demographics aged 15-64 in Nigeria changed from 53.1% to 55.9% between 2004 and 2024.

Share of young population (0-14 years)

Table

Year	Share of population 0-14 years old
	Nigeria	World
1960	41.1%	37.4%
1961	41.1%	37.5%
1962	41.1%	37.6%
1963	41.2%	37.8%
1964	41.4%	38%
1965	41.5%	38%
1966	41.7%	38%
1967	41.8%	38%
1968	42%	37.9%
1969	42.2%	37.8%
1970	42.4%	37.7%
1971	42.5%	37.6%
1972	42.8%	37.5%
1973	43%	37.3%
1974	43.2%	37.2%
1975	43.4%	37.1%
1976	43.7%	36.9%
1977	43.9%	36.7%
1978	44.2%	36.3%
1979	44.4%	35.9%
1980	44.6%	35.5%
1981	44.8%	35.2%
1982	45%	34.9%
1983	45.2%	34.6%
1984	45.4%	34.3%
1985	45.5%	34%
1986	45.6%	33.8%
1987	45.6%	33.6%
1988	45.5%	33.4%
1989	45.5%	33.2%
1990	45.3%	33%
1991	45.2%	32.9%
1992	45%	32.7%
1993	44.8%	32.5%
1994	44.6%	32.3%
1995	44.4%	32.1%
1996	44.2%	31.8%
1997	44.1%	31.5%
1998	43.9%	31.1%
1999	43.8%	30.8%
2000	43.7%	30.4%
2001	43.7%	30%
2002	43.8%	29.6%
2003	43.8%	29.2%
2004	43.9%	28.8%
2005	44%	28.5%
2006	44.1%	28.1%
2007	44.2%	27.9%
2008	44.3%	27.6%
2009	44.4%	27.5%
2010	44.4%	27.3%
2011	44.5%	27.1%
2012	44.5%	27%
2013	44.5%	26.9%
2014	44.4%	26.8%
2015	44.3%	26.6%
2016	44.1%	26.5%
2017	43.9%	26.4%
2018	43.6%	26.2%
2019	43.2%	26%
2020	42.8%	25.8%
2021	42.4%	25.6%
2022	42%	25.3%
2023	41.5%	25%
2024	41%	24.7%
2025	40.5%	24.4%
2026	40%	24.1%
2027	39.5%	23.8%
2028	39%	23.4%
2029	38.5%	23.1%
2030	38%	22.8%
2031	37.6%	22.6%
2032	37.2%	22.3%
2033	36.8%	22.1%
2034	36.5%	21.9%
2035	36.2%	21.7%
2036	35.9%	21.6%
2037	35.5%	21.5%
2038	35.2%	21.4%
2039	34.9%	21.3%
2040	34.5%	21.2%
2041	34.2%	21.1%
2042	33.8%	21%
2043	33.5%	21%
2044	33.1%	20.9%
2045	32.8%	20.8%
2046	32.4%	20.7%
2047	32%	20.7%
2048	31.6%	20.6%
2049	31.3%	20.5%
2050	30.9%	20.4%

The share of children aged 0-14 in Nigeria decreased from 43.9% to 41% between 2004 and 2024 due to changes in birth rates.

Share of old population (65+)

Table

Year	Share of population 65+ years old
	Nigeria	World
1960	3.33%	4.97%
1961	3.35%	4.99%
1962	3.37%	5.01%
1963	3.38%	5.02%
1964	3.38%	5.04%
1965	3.38%	5.08%
1966	3.36%	5.12%
1967	3.34%	5.16%
1968	3.32%	5.2%
1969	3.3%	5.24%
1970	3.28%	5.28%
1971	3.27%	5.32%
1972	3.26%	5.37%
1973	3.25%	5.42%
1974	3.23%	5.47%
1975	3.22%	5.53%
1976	3.21%	5.59%
1977	3.19%	5.65%
1978	3.18%	5.71%
1979	3.17%	5.77%
1980	3.16%	5.81%
1981	3.16%	5.81%
1982	3.15%	5.8%
1983	3.16%	5.79%
1984	3.16%	5.8%
1985	3.15%	5.82%
1986	3.15%	5.86%
1987	3.15%	5.91%
1988	3.15%	5.95%
1989	3.14%	6.01%
1990	3.14%	6.07%
1991	3.13%	6.14%
1992	3.12%	6.21%
1993	3.11%	6.29%
1994	3.1%	6.37%
1995	3.09%	6.45%
1996	3.08%	6.53%
1997	3.07%	6.61%
1998	3.06%	6.68%
1999	3.05%	6.76%
2000	3.04%	6.84%
2001	3.03%	6.92%
2002	3.02%	7.01%
2003	3.02%	7.1%
2004	3.02%	7.18%
2005	3.01%	7.26%
2006	3.01%	7.34%
2007	3.01%	7.41%
2008	3.01%	7.47%
2009	3.01%	7.52%
2010	3.01%	7.58%
2011	3.01%	7.66%
2012	3.01%	7.78%
2013	3%	7.92%
2014	2.98%	8.08%
2015	2.97%	8.26%
2016	2.97%	8.45%
2017	2.96%	8.65%
2018	2.97%	8.88%
2019	2.97%	9.1%
2020	2.98%	9.33%
2021	2.99%	9.53%
2022	3.01%	9.74%
2023	3.03%	9.98%
2024	3.05%	10.2%
2025	3.07%	10.4%
2026	3.09%	10.6%
2027	3.12%	10.8%
2028	3.14%	11.1%
2029	3.17%	11.5%
2030	3.2%	11.7%
2031	3.23%	12%
2032	3.27%	12.3%
2033	3.3%	12.6%
2034	3.34%	12.8%
2035	3.39%	13.1%
2036	3.44%	13.4%
2037	3.49%	13.7%
2038	3.55%	13.9%
2039	3.62%	14.1%
2040	3.69%	14.3%
2041	3.77%	14.5%
2042	3.85%	14.7%
2043	3.94%	14.9%
2044	4.03%	15%
2045	4.12%	15.2%
2046	4.21%	15.4%
2047	4.29%	15.7%
2048	4.38%	15.9%
2049	4.46%	16.1%
2050	4.54%	16.3%

The share of older people aged 65 and over in Nigeria increased from 3.02% to 3.05% between 2004 and 2024 due to changes in life expectancy.