Geography · Lesson 14

Nigeria: population, resources, economy & geo-political issues

JAMBWAECNECO

What the syllabus asks

JAMB: Regional Geography IV A(iv–v) and IV B: Nigeria’s population, resources, economic activities, transport, trade, tourism and contemporary issues

WAEC: Regional Geography of Nigeria: population (size, distribution, structure, quality, migration); resources (minerals, power, water, vegetation) and conservation; agriculture; industry; transport; communication; trade; tourism; development and environmental issues; geo-political issues

NECO: Regional Geography of Nigeria: population (size, distribution, structure, quality, migration); resources (minerals, power, water, vegetation) and conservation; agriculture; industry; transport; communication; trade; tourism; development and environmental issues; geo-political issues

What you will learn

State Nigeria’s population size with correct sources and describe its growth.
Describe and explain the distribution and density of Nigeria’s population.
Describe Nigeria’s population structure, quality and migration patterns, and explain the problems of census-taking.
Locate and describe the uses of Nigeria’s major minerals.
Describe Nigeria’s power resources and the problems of electricity supply.
Describe water and vegetation resources and methods of conservation.
Describe Nigerian agriculture, its regions and problems.
Explain factors of industrial location and name major industrial zones.
Compare the modes of transport in Nigeria and their problems.
Describe Nigeria’s communication, trade and tourism, and discuss development, environmental and geo-political issues.

Key points

Last final census 2006: 140,431,790; UN estimate for 2025 about 237.5 million.
Growth is fast because of high birth rates, falling death rates and a young population.
Dense: South-West, South-East, Kano–Katsina–Zaria; sparse: Middle Belt and parts of North-East.
Pyramid: broad base; about 41% under 15 and 3% over 65 (2024).
Migration is mainly rural–urban; also seasonal pastoral movement and displacement.
Census problems: politics, illiteracy, terrain, insecurity, funds, culture, nomads.
Oil: discovered at Oloibiri 1956; commercial production and export from 1958.
Other minerals: coal (Enugu), tin (Jos), limestone (Ewekoro, Obajana), iron ore (Itakpe), marble (Igbeti, Jakura).
Power: gas thermal plus HEP (Kainji, Jebba on Niger; Shiroro, Zungeru on Kaduna).
Cash crops are regional: cocoa SW, oil palm SE, groundnut and cotton N.
Industry concentrates in Lagos for markets, ports, capital, power and labour.
Road carries most traffic; standard-gauge rail: Abuja–Kaduna 2016, Itakpe–Warri 2020, Lagos–Ibadan 2021.
Crude oil dominates exports; NGX is the securities market (demutualised 2021).
Tourism: Yankari, Obudu, Sukur (1999) and Osun-Osogbo (2005) World Heritage Sites.
Key issues: desertification (N), gully erosion (SE), flooding, oil pollution, coastal erosion, resource control.

Start here: The size and growth of Nigeria’s population

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and one of the most populous in the world. When a WAEC question asks for “the population of Nigeria”, you must be careful to say where your figure comes from, because Nigeria has not published final results from a census since 2006.

Census: a complete official count of all the people in a country at a stated time, with information on age, sex, occupation and other characteristics. In Nigeria it is conducted by the National Population Commission (NPC).

Census history (what to know)

Census	Key points
1952/53	Colonial census; about 30 million people.
1962 and 1963	1962 count cancelled amid disputes; 1963 accepted (about 55.7 million) but still controversial.
1973	Results cancelled because of disputes.
1991	88.99 million (often rounded to 88.9 million).
2006	140,431,790 (71,345,488 males; 69,086,302 females). The most recent final official census.

Since 2006 a new census has been planned several times and postponed. So recent figures are estimates and projections. The United Nations World Population Prospects (2024 revision) estimates Nigeria at about 237.5 million in mid-2025, growing at a little over 2% per year. Write: “Nigeria’s population is estimated at over 230 million (UN estimate, 2025); the last census, 2006, counted 140.4 million.” Examiners reward that precision.

Why the population grows fast

High birth rate: early marriage, the value placed on large families, children as farm labour and old-age security, religious and cultural beliefs, and limited use of family planning. The UN puts the total fertility rate at a little over 4 children per woman.
Falling death rate: better health care, immunisation, clean water and food supply than in the past, although death rates remain higher than in richer countries.
Young population: many people are entering child-bearing age, so growth continues even if families get smaller (population momentum).
Immigration from neighbouring countries is small compared with natural increase.

Worked example 14.1 (illustrative figures for practice)

A state had 4,000,000 people in 2016 and grows at 3% per year. Estimate its population in 2018 using compound growth.

After 1 year: 4,000,000 × 1.03 = 4,120,000.
After 2 years: 4,120,000 × 1.03 = 4,243,600.
Check: 4,000,000 × 1.03² = 4,000,000 × 1.0609 = 4,243,600. ✓

Worked example 14.2 (real census figures)

Using the 2006 census, calculate Nigeria’s sex ratio (males per 100 females).

Sex ratio = males ÷ females × 100 = 71,345,488 ÷ 69,086,302 × 100.
= 1.0327 × 100 ≈ 103 males per 100 females.

Exam tip: never write a recent population figure as if it were a census result. Say “estimate” or “projection”.

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Practice questions

1. Nigeria’s 2006 census recorded a population of about

140 million
88 million
200 million
56 million

Show answer

A: 140 million
Final figure 140,431,790.

2. The body that conducts the census in Nigeria is the

INEC
National Bureau of Statistics only
NEMA
National Population Commission

Show answer

D: National Population Commission
NPC is a federal executive body listed in the 1999 Constitution (Third Schedule).

3. An area of very high rural population density in Nigeria is

the Sahel of Borno
the Kainji Lake area
the South-East (e.g. Imo and Anambra)
the Middle Belt

Show answer

C: the South-East (e.g. Imo and Anambra)
Fertile soils and long settlement explain it.

4. Nigeria’s main coal field is in the

Sokoto basin
Anambra basin around Enugu
Niger Delta
Jos Plateau

Show answer

B: Anambra basin around Enugu
Coal was first mined at Enugu in 1915.

5. Limestone for cement is quarried at

Ewekoro and Obajana
Jos and Bukuru
Itakpe
Oloibiri

Show answer

A: Ewekoro and Obajana
Cement is a raw-material oriented industry.

Key words

Census: A complete official count of the population of a country at a given time.
Population density: Number of people per km²; population ÷ area.
Dependency ratio: Ratio of dependants (0–14 and 65+) to people of working age (15–64).
Rural–urban migration: Movement of people from villages to towns, mainly for jobs and services.
Mineral resource: A naturally occurring substance in the earth that people can extract and use.
Renewable resource: A resource that is replaced naturally, e.g. water, forests, solar energy.
Non-renewable resource: A resource that cannot be replaced once used, e.g. crude oil, coal, tin.
Gas flaring: Burning off natural gas produced with crude oil instead of using it.
Hydro-electric power (HEP): Electricity made by water from a dam turning turbines.
Cash crop: A crop grown mainly for sale, often for export, e.g. cocoa.
Food crop: A crop grown mainly to feed the farmer’s family and local market, e.g. yam, maize.
Industrial estate: An area planned and serviced for factories.

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