Nigeria
This case study of Nigeria, taken from Global Demographics and Population Projections illustrates the problems that recently-independent countries, especially in Africa, have had. Rapid population growth has made it difficult to deal with these problems in the past; continued large population growth in the future will be even more burdensome. Nigeria became independent in 1960. Its population was 45 million people. In 2024 its population was 233 million people. Nigeria’s capital, Lagos, is already one of the largest cities in the world. In 2050 its projected population will be in the range of 375-400 million people, depending on how fast its birth rate continues to come down. Around that year Nigeria will replace the United States as the third most populous country in the world. By 2100, Nigeria is projected to have at least 750 million people , which will be about equal to the projected population of China. Nigeria’s birth rate in 2023 was 4.5, su...