📜 A long story
Nigeria, 1800 → today
Nigeria grew from 12.1 million in 1800 to 228 million; a newborn can expect 19 more years of life than in 1950, and output per person is 6.3× its 1885 level, adjusted for inflation.
Told with long-run reconstructions, not the yearly series used elsewhere on the site: each chapter names its source. Scroll to move through the years.
☺ Chapter 1 · Population
How many people live there?
1800
In 1800, about 12.1 million people lived in Nigeria.
1900
18.7 million people.
1.5× the 1800 level
1950
37.3 million people.
2× the 1900 level
Reached twice the 1800 level in 1924.
2023
228 million people, the latest year in this series.
6.1× the 1950 level
Reached 5 times the 1800 level in 1974.
Reached 10 times the 1800 level in 1999.
Long-run series: before 1950, reconstructions by HYDE and Gapminder, filled in between benchmark years by those sources. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates.
✚ Chapter 2 · Life expectancy
How long do people live?
1950
In 1950, a newborn in Nigeria could expect to live 35.5 years, on average.
2023
54.5 years, the latest year in this series.
+19 years since 1950
Passed 40 years in 1970.
Passed 50 years in 2007.
Long-run series: before 1950, historical estimates (Riley, Clio Infra, Human Mortality Database), only for years they cover.
◎ Chapter 3 · GDP per person (PPP)
How much is produced per person?
1885
In 1885, Nigeria produced about Int$810 per person, in 2011 prices.
1950
Int$1,200.
1.5× the 1885 level
2022
Int$5,070, the latest year in this series.
4.2× the 1950 level
Reached twice the 1885 level in 1970.
Reached 5 times the 1885 level in 2008.
The sharpest fall in the data: down 31% between 1977 and 1984 (Int$2,220 → Int$1,530).
Long-run series (Maddison Project) in 2011 international dollars: adjusted for inflation, so not the same unit as today’s PPP figure. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates. Dashed stretches are years without data.
❦ Chapter 4 · CO₂ per person
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
1915
In 1915, fossil fuels and industry in Nigeria emitted about 0.00084 t of CO₂ per person.
1950
0.1 t.
72× the 1915 level
Reached twice the 1915 level in 1916.
Reached 5 times the 1915 level, reached 10 times the 1915 level in 1917.
Reached 20 times the 1915 level in 1918.
Reached 50 times the 1915 level in 1944.
2024
0.6 t, the latest year in this series.
9.7× the 1950 level
The sharpest fall in the data: down 52% between 1984 and 1990 (0.8 t → 0.4 t).
Long-run series: fossil CO₂ emitted within each country’s borders (Global Carbon Budget); early estimates are less certain. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates.