Nigeria’s population to surpass the U.S. before 2050 – UN

India’s population would soon surpass China’s.

Nigeria’s population is expected to surpass that of the U.S. before the middle of the century, according to a new United Nations, UN, World Population Prospects report.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the report was made public during a news conference at the UN Headquarters in New York on Thursday.

The report said that by the end of the century, Nigeria could start to rival China as the second most populous country in the world.

The U.S. currently has a population of over 300 million and increasing. This implies that the UN estimates Nigeria’s population to be higher than 300 million by 2050.

The report said that by 2100 there could be several other countries with populations over 200 million, namely Indonesia, the United Republic of Tanzania, Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Uganda and Niger.

The report titled “World Population Prospects: The 2012 Revision’’ recorded the total population of Nigeria to be 173,615 with the figure of male 88,362 while the female was recorded as 85,254.

It, however, stated that sex ratio of male per 100 female was 104 per cent.

India to overtake China

The report also indicated that the population of India could surpass that of China in the next 20 years.

“The population of India is expected to surpass that of China around 2028, when both countries will have populations of around 1.45 billion. Thereafter, India’s population will continue to grow for several decades to around 1.6 billion and then decline slowly to 1.5 billion in 2100.

“The population of China, on the other hand, is expected to start decreasing after 2030, possibly reaching 1.1 billion in 2100.

The report disclosed that current world population of 7.2 billion was projected to increase by almost one billion people within the next twelve years, reaching 8.1 billion in 2025 and 9.6 billion in 2050.

It added that most of the population growth would occur in developing regions, with their population projected to increase from 5.9 billion in 2013 to 8.2 billion in 2050.

“During the same period, the population of developed regions will remain largely unchanged at around 1.3 billion people.

“Growth is expected to be most rapid in the 49 least developed countries, which are projected to double in size from some 900 million inhabitants in 2013 to 1.8 billion in 2050,’’ the report stated.

It noted that at country level, much of the overall increase between now and 2050 was projected to take place in high-fertility countries, mainly in Africa, as well as countries with large populations such as India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines and the U.S.

“Although population growth has slowed for the world as a whole, this report reminds us that some developing countries, especially in Africa, are still growing rapidly,’’ the UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Wu Hongbo said.

He added that compared to the UN’s previous assessment of world population trends, the new projected total

population was higher, particularly after 2075.

“Part of the reason is that current fertility levels have been adjusted upward in a number of countries as new

information becomes available.

“In 15 high-fertility countries of sub-Saharan Africa, the estimated average number of children per woman has been adjusted upwards by more than five per cent,’’ Mr. Hongbo said.

(NAN)