Details of the approved 2022 budget have shown that the country will spend the sum of N177.33 billion on Population and Housing Census in 2022.
The last time Nigeria conducted a census was in 2006 and the result of that census put the population of the country at 140.43 million persons comprising 71.3 million Male and 69.0 million females.
According to the 2006 census, Kano had the highest population figures with 9.4 million persons, followed by Lagos with 9.1 million persons. Other states that made up the top ten states with the highest population figures according to the 2006 census were; Kaduna (6.1 million persons), Katsina (5.8 million persons), Oyo (5.5 million persons), Rivers (5.1 million persons), Bauchi (4.6 million persons), Jigawa (4.3 million persons), Benue (4.2 million persons) and Anambra (4.1 million persons).
Before the 2006 census, the 1991 census put Nigeria’s population at 89 million. In the sixteen-year period between 1991 and 2006, the country’s population grew by 57.3%.
In the almost 15 years since the last census, Nigeria has made plans based on population projections by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS). NBS had projected that the country’s population would have grown up to 193 million persons in 2016, a 37.8% increase over a ten-year period.
The population of Kano was expected to have grown up to 13 million persons with Lagos growing up to 12 million persons as of 2016. Kaduna state was expected to have a population of Eight million persons with Katsina at seven million persons.
The National Development Plan (2021-2025) estimates Nigeria’s population at 200 million persons currently. This represents a 42.4% growth in the last Fifteen years from the 2006 Census count.
The plan estimates Nigeria’s population growth rate at 2.5% between 2021-2025. If this projection holds, a 2.5% growth per annum on the present 200 million would mean between 2022 and 2025, Nigeria’s population would have added another Twenty million persons adding up to 220 million persons by 2025.
This is a slightly lower figure than projections by statistical analysis platforms like Statista that estimate that Nigeria’s current population is about 203 million and will grow up to 233 million persons by 2025, a 66.4% increase over the 2006 population census figures.
Data from international organisations and statistical analysis platforms place Nigeria’s current population at figures higher than the NBS 200 million figure. World Bank Data places the population as slightly over 206 million in 2020, the United Nations Population Fund data says Nigeria’s 2021 population is slightly over 211 million with a 2.6% growth rate. Knoema places the current population at 211 million persons. According to Statista, Nigeria’s current population is about 213 million and will grow to 233 million persons by 2025, an estimation slightly higher than the National Development’s Plan’s 2025 figure of 220 million people.
The 2022 National Census, expected to commence in March 2022 will hopefully harmonize all estimations as they stand today.
A housing census, typically conducted alongside a population census, simply means the official enumeration of all living quarters both occupied and vacant in a country at a specified time. A housing census will help the country make policy decisions on housing with respect to population among others.
The National Development Plan (2021-2025) highlights the country’s commitment to bridging the housing gap in the country, projecting one million houses to be built in Nigeria yearly.
The plan noted that the country as of 2017 had completed 2,287 housing units with 2,591 units under construction across 34 states. The federal mortgage bank was quoted as having issued 5,446 mortgage loans totalling N46.77 billion and 62,061 home renovations loans amounting to N55.198 Billion.
Dataphyte’s Post Oil Economy Housing Advisory had estimated that 26 million Nigerian Households do not own their homes.
Used properly, the housing census may provide a roadmap to achieving parts of the plans for bridging Nigeria’s housing deficit as contained in the development plan.