Bloomberg: Nigeria’s population reached 182 million this year with more than half of its people under 30 years of age, putting a severe strain on a nation suffering from a slowing economy and declining revenue to provide enough schools and health facilities.
The latest estimate is based on the population of 140 million recorded in the last census a decade ago, using an annual growth rate of 3.5 percent weighed against other variables such as a rising life expectancy and a declining infant mortality rate, Ghaji Bello, director general of the National Population Commission, said in an interview Monday in the capital, Abuja.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is witnessing a growing youth bulge, with those under 14 years accounting for more than 40 percent of its citizens, he said. This is happening at a time when the International Monetary Fund has forecast the West African nation;s the gross domestic product will shrink 1.7 percent this year, the first full-year contraction in more than two decades.
Census Delayed
Plans to hold a census this year were delayed by the election of a new government last year and the plunge in state revenue due to low prices for crude, the country’s main export, and slashed output caused by militant attacks in the southern oil region, according to Bello.
“We’re hopeful the government will soon make a statement for the next exercise,” he said.
To ensure an accurate figure when it does take place, the commission plans to obtain the biometric data of citizens counted to curtail the temptation to inflate numbers by states and municipalities in a bid to attract more social benefits and services based on larger numbers.
“It’s our mandate to produce figures that are accurate and credible,” Bello said. “If we do that successfully, we’ll be able to lay to rest some of these issues.”
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