Country profile · West Africa
Nigeria
Nigeria has 237.5 million people, the most in Africa and the sixth most in the world. It is Africa's largest oil producer, with 1.605 million barrels a day in 2025. An Islamist insurgency has continued in the northeast since 2009. Bola Tinubu has been president since May 2023 and faces re-election on January 16, 2027.
Where Nigeria ranks
All rankings →Who runs Nigeria?
Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress has been president since May 29, 2023. He won with 36.61% of the vote on a turnout of 26.71%, both the lowest since civilian rule returned in 1999. He governed Lagos from 1999 to 2007 and spent four years in exile under Sani Abacha's dictatorship. His nickname, Jagaban, comes from a chieftaincy title meaning chief warrior of Borgu. In his inaugural speech he said, "The fuel subsidy is gone." Two weeks later the central bank let the naira float. The APC holds 31 of 36 governorships and 88 of 109 Senate seats. He faces Atiku Abubakar (ADC) and Peter Obi (NDC) on January 16, 2027.
- APC 88
- Other parties 21
Portrait (2023): Nosa Asemota, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who are Nigeria's allies and rivals?
Boko Haram and its offshoot ISWAP, the Islamic State's West Africa branch, have fought in the northeast since 2009. A UN study estimated nearly 350,000 deaths by the end of 2020, most from hunger and disease. Boko Haram took 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in 2014. On October 31, 2025, President Trump named Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern for religious freedom and threatened military action. On December 25, 2025, US forces struck Islamic State camps in Sokoto State in coordination with Nigeria. About 200 US troops arrived in February 2026, and most are leaving by the end of September. In December 2025, Nigerian jets and troops helped Benin stop a coup attempt.
Allies and partners
United StatesJoint operation killed Islamic State commander, May 2026
United KingdomSecurity and defense partnership since 2018
ChinaLargest source of imports, 29.4% in 2025
TurkeyMilitary cooperation deal, January 2026
BeninHelped stop coup attempt, December 2025
CameroonPartner in Lake Chad task force
Threats and tensions
- ISWAPIslamic State's West Africa branch
- Boko HaramNortheast insurgency since 2009
- LakurawaIslamic State-aligned, based in northwest
NigerJunta left ECOWAS, January 2025
- Borno State Center of the Boko Haram and ISWAP insurgency since 2009. The UN says 5.9 million people need aid.
- Sokoto State US struck Islamic State camps on December 25, 2025.
- Niger Delta Nigeria's oil fields. Crude lost to theft fell from 102,900 barrels a day in 2021 to 9,600 in early 2025.
- Bakassi Peninsula Handed to Cameroon in 2008 after a 2002 ruling by the International Court of Justice.
- Nigeria
- Partner
- Tensions
Who does Nigeria trade with?
Nigeria exported 85.13 trillion naira of goods in 2025 and imported 67.35 trillion naira. Crude oil was 55.7% of exports. Oil and gas together were about 85%. China supplied 29.4% of imports. Nigeria's largest trade deficit, 17.01 trillion naira, was with China. India was the top export destination at 10.5%. The Dangote refinery near Lagos reached its full capacity of 650,000 barrels a day in February 2026. Petrol imports fell from 15.4 trillion naira in 2024 to 8.96 trillion in 2025, but Nigeria still imports some. The central bank's foreign reserves reached $54.86 billion on September 24, 2026, the highest since 2008.
Sells to
Share of Nigeria's exports
India10.5%
Spain8.8%
Netherlands8.7%
France7.2%- United States5.3%
Goods trade, 2025. Shares of Nigeria's exports and imports, measured in naira, from the National Bureau of Statistics (March 2026).
How strong is Nigeria's military?
The IISS counts 143,000 active troops in the army, navy and air force. SIPRI puts military spending at $2.1 billion in 2025, up 55% in real terms, the second most in sub-Saharan Africa after South Africa. About three quarters of the 2026 defense budget goes to pay. Nigeria has 12 US-made Super Tucano attack planes delivered in 2021. Twenty-four Italian M-346 jets are due from December 2026 and 12 US AH-1Z helicopters by early 2029. In January 2026 the military confirmed a plot to overthrow the government. Thirty-six personnel went on trial at a court-martial in April 2026. Nigeria has no nuclear weapons and ratified the treaty banning them in 2020.
Active troops in Africa's largest armies, 2026
Full ranking →
Ethiopia503,000
Egypt438,500
Eritrea301,750
Morocco195,800- Nigeria143,000
Algeria139,000
IISS, The Military Balance, 2024 to 2026 editions
How fast is Nigeria's population growing?
The UN estimates 237.5 million people in 2025 and projects 359.2 million by 2050, which would make Nigeria the fifth most populous country. Nigeria has not held a census since 2006, when it counted 140.4 million. A census planned for 2023 was postponed and has no new date. About half the population is younger than 18. Women have 4.3 children on average, down from 6.77 in 1975. Life expectancy is 54.8 years, the lowest of 196 countries in the UN data. About 75,000 Nigerian women died in pregnancy or childbirth in 2023, 28.7% of all such deaths in the world. UNICEF counts 18.3 million children out of school, the most of any country.
Population in 2050, UN projection
Full ranking →- India1.68 billion
- China1.26 billion
- United States380.8 million
Pakistan371.9 million- Nigeria359.2 million
Indonesia320.7 million
UN World Population Prospects 2024