Statistician-General faults Nigeria’s touted 170m population figure

Nigeria’s estimated 170 million population figure is incorrect, according to Statistician-General of the Federation, Dr. Yemi Kale.

Speaking in Abuja at the official launch of Enhanced General Data Dissemination System (e-GDDS), Kale said the estimates were speculations, adding that the nation’s population may be less.

According to him, capturing of the population figures based on three per cent growth rate since 2006 was faulty, arguing that the nation was not static but dynamic.

He stressed further that rather marrying early, many women now opt for western education.

Kale noted that census figures may have been inflated in some quarters in the past, giving the impression that more population of humans resides in certain areas.

“I believe that those who say that Nigeria has a population of 170 million are wrong. This is because, you cannot continue to use the three per cent growth rate used since 2006 to calculate the current population. So, you cannot say accurately that Nigeria’s population is 170 million or more. Certain cultures like early marriage, which used to be the norm, are now changing. Women are now embracing western education more than they did years ago. That is also a factor to consider.

“What used to happen is that some people gave wrong census of their population in order to create the impression that they are more in number. So, these contributed to the higher number bandied around often. So, with this, you can see that the nation’s population cannot have reached 170 million in the real sense,” he clarified.

Speaking on the newly launched National Summary Data Page (NSDP), Kale said that the bureau, through collaboration with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ministry of Finance, office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is to host general data information bank on all aspects of the economy.

The aim, he said, was to make information about any aspect of the country available to both local and international users through open data platform on the NBS website.

The Statistician-General also stressed that publication of essential macroeconomic data would be published on the NSDP to provide national policy makers, investors, domestic and international stakeholders access to information that would enhance the economy as well as improve access to timely data on Nigeria.

He added that the new system would encourage transparency and improve statistical development in the country.