5 facts about religion in Nigeria https://t.co/XZFaslpdgF
— Pew Research Center (@pewresearch) November 11, 2025
1. As of 2020, Muslims made up a majority of Nigeria’s total population (56.1%), while Christians made up 43.4%, according to our estimates. We estimate that all other groups made up 0.6% of the national population.
2. Nigeria’s religious composition has been a subject of debate. The last census effort to measure religion took place in 1973, but results were not published due to allegations of data falsification. The most recent publicly available data is from 1963. Rumors that the country’s (now postponed) 2023 census might measure religion led the census agency to clarify that it does not plan to include such a question for sensitivity reasons.
3. The Muslim and Christian populations in Nigeria both have been growing rapidly. From 2010 to 2020, Nigeria’s Muslim population rose 32% to 120 million people and its Christian population grew by 25% to 93 million.
4. Nigeria has the world’s fifth-largest Muslim population and its sixth-largest Christian population. It is the only country that ranks among both the 10 largest Muslim populations and the 10 largest Christian populations.
5. Nigeria is one of seven countries with “very high” levels of social hostilities involving religion as of 2022, according to the Center’s index. Both Muslims and Christians have been attacked, kidnapped and killed by armed gangs. Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province have burned churches and mosques.
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