Nigeria’s population now 198 million – NPC

The Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Eze Duruiheoma, says Nigeria’s population consists of approximately 198 million people.

He disclosed this when delivering Nigeria’s statement on sustainable cities, human mobility and international migration at the ongoing 51st session of Commission on Population and Development in New York.

He disclosed that urban population within the country has been growing at an average yearly rate of about 6.5 per cent for over 50 years.

“Nigeria remains the most populous in Africa, the seventh globally with an estimated population of over 198 million.

“The recent World Population Prospects predicts that by 2050, Nigeria will become the third most populated country in the world.

“Over the last 50 years, Nigeria’s urban population has grown at an average annual growth rate of more than 6.5 per cent without a commensurate increase in social amenities and infrastructure.

“The Displacement Tracking Matrix round XXI of January 2018 identified estimated 1.7 million IDPs in over 321,580 households across six states of North-East Nigeria with 40 per cent residing in camp-like settings in urban areas plus 1.4 million returnees.

“The number of IDPs represented 4.5 per cent increase compared to the 1,702,680 identified in Round XX (Dec. 2017.

“In addition, the 2014 World Urbanisation Prospects report, predicts that by 2050, most of the population – 70 per cent – will be residing in cities.

“The 2010 human mobility survey report revealed that 23 per cent of the sampled population were of more females than males,” the chairman said. Source: premiumtimesng.com

He added that the population grew substantially from 17.3 per cent in 1967 to 49.4 per cent in 2017.

He also said young people of teen age and adolescent girls and boys, women of childbearing age and the people of working age were mostly involved in urbanization and migration among the population.

The NPC chairman, quoting a Nigerian Bureau of Statistics report, said unemployment was at an average of 18.4 per cent and as such, the nation’s cities hosted widespread poverty, under-employment and unemployment.

“Nigeria continues to commit to solving the challenges of insurgents in the Northeast, which has induced a high number of internally displaced persons.

“We are committed to providing adequate healthcare services, reducing maternal mortality, rebuilding safe schools and empowering our women, ensuring no one is left behind in terms of achieving sustainable development,” Mr Duruiheoma said.

Sourcepremiumtimesng.com

My advice is that government should plan ahead and also sustain their fiscal sustainability target.