List of Most Populated Cities in Nigeria 2021

FACTS ABOUT NIGERIA POPULATION

Each of the cities below, of not all, about 7 of them almost exceeds 1 million in Population establishing the fact that the country is one of the most populous countries in the world.

There are 79 cities with a minimum population of 100,000 and 249 cities with populations that exceed 10,000. Nigeria is Multi Ethnic and has lots of cultural Diversity. There 520 Languages spoken with major languages are Igbo, Urhobo, Hausa, Yoruba, Ibibio, Fulfulde, Edo, Pidgin English, Ijaw, Kanuri, and Tiv.

Nigeria has a total of 36 states and 774 Local Government Areas. Lagos is arguably the most populous city in Nigeria and Africa with more than 20 million Dwellers followed by  Cairo in Egypt with a 19.5 million population.

More than 85% of Nigerians live in Urban areas of the country, the decline in rural population can be attributed to lack of basic life amenities in the rural communities.

More natives are moving to the big cities especially after getting educated so they can take advantage of limited and highly competitive Job offers that are available in those big cities, which explains while the Lagos population is running to more than 20 million people.

Top 10 List of Most Populated Cities in Nigeria

Lagos is the largest city in Africa and in Nigeria has the highest GDP and the population is currently at 20,000,000

Kano is the next, though much bigger than Lagos, in terms of Landmass, but have more of its dwellers as Native Hausas, the population is estimated at 4,436,068

Ibadan is known to be the largest city in West Africa by land area, with more of its dwellers as Native Yorubas. The population is estimated at 3,965,108

Kaduna is one of the leading  industrial city in the country making it famous for things like coal and pottery, the population is estimated at 1,782,102

Port Harcourt is known for its significant deposit of Crude oil which it’s mining has contributed to the growth and development if this great country. The population of PH is estimated at 1,548,665
Benin City: Ancestral Benin City is known for its richness and fortification center for higher education. The estimated population is caped at 1,325,058

Maiduguri which happened to be the Military outpost established in 1907. The Population in the city is rounded at 1,258,449

Zaria is known for her richness in Agriculture, supply a substantial part of the Nation’s food, it is home to many native Hausa dwellers with close to a Million in population.

Aba is the hub of Skilled-craftsmanship, this amazing city is known of Industrialization, technology and vastly developing in Manufacturing. The population is estimated at over 897,560

Jos exemplifies the natural beauty of Nigeria’s Plateau, so good to behold. The Population is estimated at 816,824

Table Showing Most populated Cities in Nigeria and estimated Number of dwellers in each city


CityCountryPopulation
  • Lagos
Nigeria9,000,000
  • Kano
Nigeria3,626,068
  • Ibadan
Nigeria3,565,108
  • Kaduna
Nigeria1,582,102
  • Port Harcourt
Nigeria1,148,665
  • Benin City
Nigeria1,125,058
  • Maiduguri
Nigeria1,112,449
  • Zaria
Nigeria975,153
  • Aba
Nigeria897,560
  • Jos
Nigeria816,824
  • Ilorin
Nigeria814,192
  • Oyo
Nigeria736,072
  • Enugu
Nigeria688,862
  • Abeokuta
Nigeria593,100
  • Abuja
Nigeria590,400
  • Sokoto
Nigeria563,861
  • Onitsha
Nigeria561,066
  • Warri
Nigeria536,023
  • Ebute Ikorodu
Nigeria535,619
  • Okene
Nigeria479,178
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