Nigeria To Become 3rd Most Populous Country By 2050 – UN Report

A United Nations Report has predicted that Nigeria will become the third most populous country in the world by year 2050.

With its population estimated at 191.8 million and a growth rate of 54.8 per cent in the past seven years, Nigeria will dislodge the United States (U.S.), the report added.

The report released by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, titled ‘World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision’, said Nigeria presently ranks 7th in the world.

The report said “by 2050, the third most populous country will be Nigeria, which currently ranks seventh, and which is poised to replace the United States.

“Among the 10 largest countries of the world, one is in Africa (Nigeria).

“Amongst these, Nigeria’s population, currently the seventh largest in the world, is growing the most rapidly.

“Consequently, the population of Nigeria is projected to surpass that of the United States shortly before 2050, at which point it would become the third largest country in the world.

“In 2050, the populations in six of the 10 largest countries are expected to exceed 300 million: China, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and United States of America (in alphabetical order).

“Africa, which has the youngest age distribution of any region, is projected to experience a rapid ageing of its population.

“Although the African population will remain relatively young for several more decades, the percentage of its population aged 60 or over is expected to rise from five per cent in 2017 to around nine per cent in 2050, and then to nearly 20 per cent by the end of the century,” the report noted.