Nigeria: cities by population
Nigeria has a population of 242,431,832 (UN estimate, 2026), with Abuja as its capital. The 50 largest of its 485 recorded towns and cities, ranked.
+92%
since 2000 (126,382,494)
+48%
projected by 2050 (359,185,556)
266
people per km²
Figures are the latest available in GeoNames (CC BY 4.0), which draws on national censuses of varying dates — treat them as recent, not same-year. Country totals are UN World Population Prospects 2024 (medium variant) where the UN lists the country separately; the handful it reports under a parent state keep a GeoNames figure and are marked as such. Sources & method.
Largest cities in Nigeria
| # | Place | Region | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lagos | Lagos | 15,388,000 |
| 2 | Kano | Kano State | 4,910,000 |
| 3 | Ibadan | Oyo State | 3,649,000 |
| 4 | Abuja | FCT | 2,690,000 |
| 5 | Port Harcourt | Rivers State | 2,120,000 |
| 6 | Kaduna | Kaduna State | 1,850,000 |
| 7 | Benin City | Edo State | 1,782,000 |
| 8 | Onitsha | Anambra | 1,553,000 |
| 9 | Aba | Abia State | 1,160,000 |
| 10 | Maiduguri | Borno State | 1,110,000 |
| 11 | Ilorin | Kwara State | 1,080,000 |
| 12 | Sokoto | Sokoto | 1,040,000 |
| 13 | Jos | Plateau State | 1,040,000 |
| 14 | Zaria | Kaduna State | 980,000 |
| 15 | Enugu | Enugu State | 950,000 |
| 16 | Warri | Delta | 910,000 |
| 17 | Oyo | Oyo State | 736,072 |
| 18 | Abeokuta | Ogun State | 735,000 |
| 19 | Akure | Ondo State | 730,000 |
| 20 | Bauchi | Bauchi | 693,700 |
| 21 | Katsina | Katsina State | 670,000 |
| 22 | Osogbo | Osun State | 645,000 |
| 23 | Ile-Ife | Osun State | 560,000 |
| 24 | Gombe | Gombe State | 560,000 |
| 25 | Owerri | Imo State | 545,000 |
| 26 | Calabar | Cross River State | 540,000 |
| 27 | Okene | Kogi State | 479,178 |
| 28 | Ikare | Ondo State | 465,000 |
| 29 | Yola | Adamawa | 460,000 |
| 30 | Uyo | Akwa Ibom State | 436,606 |
| 31 | Ado-Ekiti | Ekiti State | 435,000 |
| 32 | Ogbomoso | Oyo State | 433,030 |
| 33 | Minna | Niger State | 425,000 |
| 34 | Bida | Niger State | 400,000 |
| 35 | Makurdi | Benue State | 390,000 |
| 36 | Ondo | Ondo State | 375,000 |
| 37 | Umuahia | Abia State | 370,000 |
| 38 | Iseyin | Oyo State | 365,300 |
| 39 | Yenagoa | Bayelsa State | 365,000 |
| 40 | Gboko | Benue State | 365,000 |
| 41 | Ijebu Ode | Ogun State | 360,000 |
| 42 | Ilesa | Osun State | 325,000 |
Twenty years earlier: Nigeria in the 2005 World Gazetteer — population then 156,468,571.
Common questions
What is the population of Nigeria?
Nigeria has a population of 242,431,832, the UN World Population Prospects estimate for 2026. The UN's medium-variant projection for 2050 is 359,185,556 — a forecast, not a measurement.
What is the capital of Nigeria?
Abuja. The largest place we record there is Lagos, with 15,388,000 people.