The population in Nigerian correctional centres had surpassed capacity by 23.4k inmates as of Nov 2023

With 68% of 80.7k inmates awaiting trial, Nigerian correctional centres have 23.4k (41%) more inmates than their 57.2k capacity. From October 2021 to November 2023, 10.6k inmates have been added to the country's prison population.

Source:

Dataphyte, Intelpoint, Nigerian Correctional Services

Period:

2021 - 2023
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Africa’s under-15 population: 16 of every 100 people aged 0–14 across 54 African countries lived in Nigeria in 2025
  • Nigeria had 96.25 million children aged 0–14 in 2025, the largest child population in Africa.
  • 16% of Africa’s children lived in Nigeria, or roughly 1 in every 6.
  • Ethiopia and DR Congo followed with 52.54 million and 51.85 million children respectively.
  • Africa’s 10 largest child populations accounted for 60.9% of the continent’s 600.17 million children.

Africa’s under-15 population: nearly half the population of the Central African Republic is under 15
  • Central African Republic had Africa’s highest 0–14 population share at 48.7%.
  • Somalia, Niger, Chad and DR Congo followed, all with at least 45.9% of their populations aged 0–14.
  • DR Congo had Africa’s largest 0–14 population at 51.85 million, despite ranking fifth by share.
  • Children aged 0–14 made up 38.8% of Africa’s population, versus 40.5% in Nigeria.

Women have never reached 12% of Nigeria’s presidential candidates since 1999
  • Women account for just 7.4% of Nigeria’s 190 presidential candidacies from 1999 to 2027, with 14 female candidacies.
  • Female candidacies peaked at 6 in 2019, after none in 1999.
  • In 2027, 2 of 18 presidential candidates are women, the highest recorded share at 11.1%.
  • Women have never exceeded 11.1% of Nigeria’s presidential candidate field since 1999.

India has by far the most undernourished people in absolute terms, and Nigeria is second at over 50 million
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  • Nigeria ranks second globally, with 51.6 million undernourished people.
  • Six of the top 10 countries are African, including DR Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar and Tanzania.
  • Madagascar has the highest prevalence, at 41.8%, followed by DR Congo at 39.5%.
  • Nigeria’s prevalence is 22.2%, more than twice India’s 9.8%.

For the first time, the number of people facing hunger in Africa has overtaken Asia — the result of steady declines in Asia alongside continued increases in Africa
  • Africa overtook Asia as the region with the most undernourished people in 2025.
  • 309.2 million people in Africa were undernourished, versus 291.8 million in Asia.
  • Africa’s undernourished population has nearly doubled since 2010, rising from 170.8 million to 309.2 million.
  • Africa’s share of the global total jumped from 28% in 2010 to 48% in 2025.
  • FAO projects Africa’s share to reach 56% by 2030, pointing to a widening long-term food insecurity gap.

Thirteen African countries had unemployment rates below 3% in 2025
  • Niger had Africa’s lowest estimated unemployment rate in 2025 at 0.39%.
  • Burundi and Chad followed, with rates of 0.92% and 1.06%.
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  • Nigeria’s estimated unemployment rate was 3.06%, just above the group.
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