Population of Nigeria 2023 | Religion in Nigeria

Nigeria is a religiously diverse society, with Islam and Christianity being the most widely professed religions. Nigerians are nearly equally divided into Muslims and Christians, with a tiny minority of adherents of traditional African religions and other religions.

A 2012 report on religion and public life by the Pew Research Center stated that in 2010, 49.3% of Nigeria’s population was Christian, 48.8% was Muslim, and 1.9% were followers of indigenous and other religions or unaffiliated. According to a 2018 estimate in The World Factbook by the CIA, the population is estimated to be 53.5% Muslim, 45.9% Christian (10.6% Roman Catholic and 35.3% other Christian), and 0.6% other.

Source: Pew report

Muslims in Nigeria

Nigeria has one of the largest Muslim populations in West Africa. In Nigeria, about 50-52 percent of the population is Muslim. Most of Nigeria’s Muslim population lives in the Northern and Central states.

The vast majority of Muslims in Nigeria are Sunni belonging to the Maliki school of jurisprudence; however, a sizeable minority also belongs to Shafi Madhhab. Shia, Ahmadiyya, and Mahdiyya are minorities, as well as followers of the Baháʼí Faith.

Islam dominates North-Western Nigeria (Hausa, Fulani, and others), with 99% Muslim, and Northern Eastern Nigeria (Kanuri, Fulani, and other groups). In the west, the Yoruba tribe is predominantly Muslim with a notable minority of Christians and 10% adherents of traditional religions.

Christianity in Nigeria

Nigeria has the largest Christian population in Africa though Christians are about 46-48% of the population. Among Christians, the Pew Research survey found that 74% were Protestant, 25% were Catholic, and 1% belonged to other Christian denominations, including a small Orthodox Christian community.

Protestant and locally cultivated Christianity are widely practiced in Western areas, while Roman Catholicism is a more prominent Christian feature of South Eastern Nigeria.

Both Roman Catholicism and Protestantism are observed in the Ibibio, Anaang, Efik, Ijo, and Ogoni lands of the south. The Igbos (predominant in the east) and the Ijaw (south) are 98% Christian, with 2% practicing traditional religions.

The leading Protestant churches in the country are

• Church of Nigeria of the Anglican Communion
• The African Church
• The Assemblies of God Church
• The Nigerian Baptist Convention
  
• The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations.

Traditional Faiths

The middle belt of Nigeria contains the largest number of minority ethnic groups in Nigeria, who were found to be mostly Christians and members of traditional religions, with a small proportion of Muslims.