Nigeria’s population set to overtake US, says UN

In 2013, the World Bank put the population of Nigeria at 173.6 million while an estimation by the United States government put its population at 321,396,145 (2015) but that is expected to change by 2050, a United Nations report says.

According to the United Nations World Population Prospects report the world’s population will reach 9.7 billion by 2050 and India would become the largest country.

Population

In 35 years’ time, there will be an extra 2.4 billion people in the world owing to high fertility rates in a handful of countries. The report said between 2015 and 2050, half of the growth will be concentrated in India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, United Republic of Tanzania, United States of America, Indonesia and Uganda.

The UN predicts that the figure will rise to 11.2 billion by 2100. The number of people living in 28 African countries is also expected to double, and by 2100 several countries will see a fivefold increase in their population.

Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Somalia, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia are all expected to see their populations boom by at least a factor of five.

Children under 15 years currently make up 41 per centof the population in Africa, while those aged between 15 and 24 years account for a further 19 per cent.