Nigeria now has a population of 198 million people - NPC
- Nigeria’s population has hit an estimated 198 million people, says the National Population Commission (NPC)
- The commission said it arrived at the figure through application of appropriate census tools
- The NPC says it is more imperative now that Nigeria should undertake the next census in the light of the recommendations of the UN
Nigeria’s population has hit an estimated 198 million people, the National Population Commission (NPC) has announced.
The development was made public by the acting national chairman of the commission, Yusuf Anka, at a media briefing on the 2019 World Population Day in Abuja on Tuesday, July 9, Vanguard reports.
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Legit.ng gathers that Anka said the NPC had arrived at the figure through application of appropriate census tools.
Speaking on on Population Day, with the theme, “25 Years of ICPD: Accelerating the Promise,” Anka urged stakeholders and the media to urgently set an agenda for the conduct of population census in the country.
He said: “Fundamentally, it is even more imperative now that Nigeria should undertake the next census in the light of the recommendations of the United Nations, that census should be undertaken every 10 years.
“The current population of Nigeria is about 198 million people. Recall that about three months ago, UNFPA brought out a figure of 201 million, and we were also asked to comment on that.
“Our comment was for us, the difference between the UNFPA figure and our own figure is a function of assumption they have made and the assumption that we have also made. And as you know, in the absence of an accurate census, you have to use a model or a projection to arrive at the figure that you are projecting.
“Now, having said that, and again, if you agree with me, there is no fundamental difference per se between 201 million and 198 million. Granted, three million can be a size of a small country, say Djibouti or maybe Southern Sudan, you can have exact figure, agree.
“But that notwithstanding, we are talking of very huge figure; the margin of error is very small. So, we can assume that we are all saying the same thing.
“Fundamentally, that is even more imperative now that Nigeria should undertake the next census in the light of the recommendations of the United Nations, that census should be undertaken every 10 years.”
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Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that ex governor Abdul’aziz Yari of Zamfara state raised an alarm over the increasing rate of unproductive population in the country.
Yari, the former chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), spoke during the valedictory session of the National Economic Council (NEC) which held at the State House, Abuja.
Yari said urgent actions must be taken to address the “alarming increase in the number of unproductive population in the country”.
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