Name: MAUL Junior
ID #: 2021311221
HIG 212: Assignment #1: Demography and Population Pyramid Research paper.
HIG: 212 POPULATION STUDIES ASSIGNMENT
TOPIC: DEMOGRAPHY AND POPULATION PYRAMID
DISCUSSION & INTERPRETATION OF POPULATION PYRAMID OF NIGERIA IN
2017
The Nigeria population pyramid description
Generally the 2017 Nigeria population pyramid displayed a broad base, indicating a significant
proportion of young people, with a gradual narrowing towards the top of the pyramid, indicating
a smaller proportion of elderly people in the population.
Retrieved from https://www.nigerianstat.gov.ng/ the pyramid has a slightly triangular shape,
which is common in developing countries. The 2017 population pyramid of Nigeria also gives a
clear picture of how a country transitions from high fertility to low fertility rate. The graph also
shows that majority of the population lies between age 0-14 which indicate that the fertility rate
of the country is high and implies a high dependency and high death rate which indicated in
overall. As well as when looking at the graph, a clear picture of poor governance in terms of
service delivery was displayed.
Looking at the pyramid’s age groups, we can also see that Nigeria has a relatively youthful
population. The majority of people are under the age of 30, with about 44% of the population
being between the ages of 0-14 years, and 21% being between the ages of 15-29 years. As
retrieved from https://nigerianstat.gov.ng/elibrary/read/775, the population is relatively young,
with about 62% of the population aged below 25 years, according to the United Nations
population estimates.
Nevertheless, there is a significant variation in regional demographics, such as in the northeast
portion of the country, where there were very least number of old people and high number of
youthful aged group due to higher fertility rate resulted from poor health systems.
https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/NGA/nigeria/population-growth-rate
one of the significant challenges facing Nigeria is the high population growth rate, which has
been estimated at over 2% per year. This growth rate has led to an increase in the dependency
ratio, which means that there are more children and older adults who need support from a
working-age population.
Name: MAUL Junior
ID #: 2021311221
HIG 212: Assignment #1: Demography and Population Pyramid Research paper.
The middle-aged population (30-59 years) constitutes 29% of the population, while the elderly
population (60 and above) represents only 6% of the population. This shows that Nigeria has an
aging population but is still relatively young compared to developed countries like japan, where
the elderly population accounts for over 28% of the population.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/382235/population-growth-in-nigeria/ as retrieved from the left
link, the bar graph displayed 2.53% of population growth compared to the previous years.
There are additional factors related to the very high birth rate and high death rate as evident in the link
above such as Nigeria healthcare spending for 2018 was $66, a 9.72% decline from 2017.
The Nigeria population pyramid also shows a gender balance, with a slightly higher proportion
of males than females in most age groups. However, the difference is not significant, and gender
balance across the population is generally maintained.
https://theconversation.com/nigerias-growing-population-can-be-an-advantage-with-better-dataand-a-policy-focus-on-young-people-209530, the Nigeria population pyramid tells us that the
country is youthful, which presents both opportunities and challenges. While it is a potential
source of high productivity and increased economic growth. It also poses numerous challenges
such as providing quality education, healthcare and creating jobs for the growing youth
population.
Image; 1 shown above is a 2017 top 10 populous country in Africa.
Name: MAUL Junior
ID #: 2021311221
HIG 212: Assignment #1: Demography and Population Pyramid Research paper.
SUMMARY POINT OF VIEW:
From my own point of view. I however, make inferences and provide an objective analysis of
Nigeria’s 2017 population pyramid.
According to the sources provided, Nigeria’s population pyramid in 2017 showed a relatively
young population, with a broad base indicating a high proportion of young people. This is in line
with the trend observed in many developing countries, where high fertility rates and
improvements in healthcare lead to a youthful population.
The United Nations reports that Nigeria’s population increased from 82.8 million in 2000 to 198
million in 2017, making it the most populous country in Africa and the seventh-largest in the
world.
Furthermore, the World Bank reports that the population growth rate in Nigeria is among the
highest in the world, estimated at 2.6% per year.
It is also worth noting that Nigeria is a diverse country with over 200 ethnic groups and multiple
languages. These factors may affect the population pyramid, with variations observed across
different regions within the country.
Therefore, the Nigerian population pyramid in 2017 is likely to show a large population of young
people at the bottom of the pyramid, with a smaller percentage in the middle and top age groups
representing the older population. However, the exact distribution would depend on the
demographics of each region of the country.
To address these demographic challenges, the Nigerian government should be implementing
various policies aimed at improving family planning services, increasing funding for healthcare,
and promoting education, especially for girls. However, despite these policies, the population
growth rate remains high, and Nigeria is projected to become the world’s third most populous
country by 2050.
Overall, the sources provided give a comprehensive overview of Nigeria’s 2017 population
pyramid and highlight the country’s unique challenges and opportunities related to demographic
changes.
Name: MAUL Junior
ID #: 2021311221
HIG 212: Assignment #1: Demography and Population Pyramid Research paper.
References
o https://www.nigerianstat.gov.ng/
o https://nigerianstat.gov.ng/elibrary/read/775
o https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/NGA/nigeria/population-growthrate
o https://www.macrotrends.net/globalmetrics/countries/NGA/nigeria/population'>Nigeria Population 1950-2024</a>
o https://www.statista.com/statistics/1122838/population-of-nigeria/
o https://www.statista.com/statistics/382235/population-growth-in-nigeria/
o https://theconversation.com/nigerias-growing-population-can-be-an-advantage-withbetter-data-and-a-policy-focus-on-young-people-209530