Country statistics

161 out of 189 in Human Development Index rankings (UNDP, 2020) 

$2,000 Average annual salary per person (World Bank, 2020)

2 million + people were evicted from their homes between 2000 - 2009 (BBC, 2020 /Amnesty International, 2017)

Nigeria is Africa’s most populated country; more than 214 million people live there (Worldometers). It has the 7th highest population in the world (Worldometers)  

The majority of people live in urban areas. 14 million people live in the capital city, Lagos. Of those, 70% are estimated to live in informal settlements (Amnesty International, 2020). 

Oil accounts for 80% of Nigeria’s exports and as oil prices fell in 2020, the country experienced its worst recession in twenty years (World Bank, 2021). 

Inflation has led to a rise in the cost of building materials and many new houses are unaffordable and stand empty on previously inhabited land (Reuters, 2021). 

Between 2000 and 2009 authorities forcibly evicted more than two million people. Many people do not have formal agreements for land ownership, meaning they have no rights to their home or land (BBC, 2020 /Amnesty International, 2017). 

The north-western border of Nigeria has been affected by regional conflict with Boko Haram since 2014. As of December 2020, more than 2.1 million people are internally displaced because of violence and conflict (UNHCR, 2020). 

Only 14% of people have access to safe drinking water. This leads to water-borne diseases such as Cholera, which is endemic and seasonal. This disproportionately affects the north of the country; the 19 states in the north accounted for 98% of suspected Cholera cases in 2021 (Los Angeles Times, 2021). 

1.7 million people are living with HIV and AIDS in Nigeria, making it the 4th highest in the world. In 2020, Nigeria recorded the 3rd highest numbers of deaths connected to HIV and AIDS (CIA Factbook, 2020).