It should not be news that Nigeria is the biggest black country in the world, with some of the largest cities in the world. Today, I want to write on the biggest Nigeria cities by their population.
Take note that the following tables shown below is the lists of the most populous and incorporated settlements in Nigeria by its population numbers.
This page is made up of three different tables, thanks to Wikipedia, and these three tables are of different kinds of settlements.
It includes a list for “defined cities”, listing the population, which is strictly within the defined city limits shared by the Nigerian federal government.
The second list covers “urban area” population, while the third list is for the population within metropolitan areas.
How are these Cities Categorized?
Statistics from the Nigerian government official website disclosed that these Nigerian cities are categorized into three types as shared above, but here is the definition. There is the “Metropolis”, which is characterized by having more than one Local Government Areas (LGAs).
Metropolis: This type of cities are usually created and brought to existence, when large municipalities are split into smaller LGAs, to aid efficient administration and management, or usually, when small towns grow and merge into existing large cities or both. Places known as Metropolis are also formed when urban areas of multiple LGAs, merge as a result of growth and are now fully defined as a single settlement.
Most Metropolis cities 90% mid-sized, although there are quite a few large cities which also exist as a single LGA.
The third type of settlement is the “village”, which is basically grouped together with several other villages coming together to form one sizeable LGA.
Important Information For further Understanding
Take note that the following table lists completely defined all the incorporated cities in Nigeria, and these cities have a population of at least, 100,000 citizens, excluding foreigners, as declared by the Nigerian National Population Commission, according to the 2006 National census.
Take note that this list refers only to the population of individual cities within their defined limits, and this list does not include other distinct communities or extended suburban areas within urban agglomerations.
Understanding this Table of Nigerian Cities
A city is displayed in bold if it is a state or federal capital, and any city which is in italics shows that it is the most populous city in the state.
| Rank | City | State | 2006 census | Total area (km²) |
Population density (/km²) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lagos | Lagos | 8,048,430 | 1,171.3 | 6,871 |
| 2 | Kano | Kano | 2,828,861 | 449 | 6,300 |
| 3 | Ibadan | Oyo | 2,559,853 | 3,080 | 831 |
| 4 | Benin City | Edo | 1,147,188 | 1,204 | 953 |
| 5 | Port Harcourt | Rivers | 1,005,904 | 369 | 2,726 |
| 6 | Jos | Plateau | 821,618 | 1,821 | 451 |
| 7 | Ilorin | Kwara | 777,667 | 765 | 1,016 |
| 8 | Abuja | FCT | 776,298 | 1,769 | 439′ |
| 9 | Kaduna | Kaduna | 760,084 | 131 | 5,802 |
| 10 | Enugu | Enugu | 722,664 | 556 | 1300 |
| 11 | Zaria | Kaduna | 695,089 | 563 | 1,234.6 |
| 12 | Warri | Delta | 557,398 | ||
| 13 | Ikorodu | Lagos | 535,619 | 345 | 1,553 |
| 14 | Maiduguri | Borno | 543,016 | 137 | 3,964 |
| 15 | Aba | Abia | 534,265 | 72 | 7,400 |
| 16 | Ife | Osun | 509,035 | 1,791 | 284 |
| 17 | Bauchi | Bauchi | 493,810 | 3,687 | 134 |
| 18 | Akure | Ondo | 484,798 | 991 | 489 |
| 19 | Abeokuta | Ogun | 451,607 | 879 | 510 |
| 20 | Oyo | Oyo | 428,798 | 2427 | 177 |
| 21 | Uyo | Akwa Ibom | 427,873 | 362 | 1,182 |
| 22 | Sokoto | Sokoto | 427,760 | ||
| 23 | Osogbo | Osun | 421,000 | ||
| 24 | Owerri | Imo | 401,873 | 551 | 729 |
| 25 | Yola | Adamawa | 392,854 | 831 | 473 |
| 26 | Calabar | Cross River | 371,022 | 406 | 910 |
| 27 | Umuahia | Abia | 359,230 | 385 | 933 |
| 28 | Ondo City | Ondo | 358,430 | ||
| 29 | Minna | Niger | 348,788 | 1,664 | 209 |
| 30 | Lafia | Nasarawa | 330,712 | ||
| 31 | Okene | Kogi | 320,260 | 328 | 976.4 |
| 32 | Katsina | Katsina | 318,459 | 142 | 2,243 |
| – | Ikeja | Lagos | 313,196 | 49.92 | 6,274 |
| 33 | Nsukka | Enugu | 309,633 | 45.38 | |
| 34 | Ado Ekiti | Ekiti | 308,621 | 293 | 1,053 |
| 35 | Awka | Anambra | 301,657 | ||
| 36 | Ogbomosho | Oyo | 299,535 | ||
| 37 | Iseyin | Oyo | 286,700 | ||
| 38 | Mubi | Adamawa | 280,009 | 1,317 | |
| 39 | Onitsha | Anambra | 261,604 | 52 | 5,030.8 |
| 40 | Sagamu | Ogun | 253,412 | ||
| 41 | Makurdi | Benue | 249,000 | ||
| 42 | Badagry | Lagos | 241,093 | 441 | 547 |
| 43 | Ilesa | Osun | 233,900 | ||
| 44 | Gombe | Gombe | 230,900 | ||
| 45 | Obafemi Owode | Ogun | 228,851 | 1,410 | 162 |
| 46 | Owo | Ondo | 218,886 | 1,027 | 213 |
| 47 | Jimeta | Adamawa | 218,400 | ||
| 48 | Suleja | Niger | 216,578 | 119 | 1,820 |
| 49 | Potiskum | Yobe | 205,876 | 559 | 368 |
| 50 | Kukawa | Borno | 203,864 | 4,901 | 41.6 |
| 51 | Gusau | Zamfara | 201,200 | ||
| 52 | Iwo | Osun | 191,377 | 214 | 894 |
| 53 | Bida | Niger | 188,181 | 51 | 3,689 |
| 54 | Ugep | Cross River | 187,000 | ||
| 55 | Ijebu Ode | Ogun | 186,700 | ||
| 56 | Epe | Lagos | 181,409 | 965 | 188 |
| 57 | Ise Ekiti | Ekiti | 167,100 | ||
| 58 | Gboko | Benue | 166,400 | ||
| 59 | Ilawe Ekiti | Ekiti | 160,700 | ||
| 60 | Ikare | Ondo | 160,600 | ||
| 61 | Osogbo | Osun | 156,694 | 47 | 3,334 |
| 62 | Okpoko | Anambra | 152,900 | ||
| 63 | Garki | Jigawa | 152,233 | 1,408 | 108.12 |
| 64 | Sapele | Delta | 151,000 | ||
| 65 | Ila | Osun | 150,700 | ||
| 66 | Shaki | Oyo | 150,300 | ||
| 67 | Ijero | Ekiti | 147,300 | ||
| 68 | Ikot Ekpene | Akwa Ibom | 143,077 | 116 | 1,233 |
| 69 | Jalingo | Taraba | 139,845 | ||
| 70 | Otukpo | Benue | 136,800 | ||
| 71 | Okigwe | Imo | 132,237 | ||
| 72 | Kisi | Oyo | 130,800 | ||
| 73 | Buguma | Rivers | 124,200 | ||
| 74 | Funtua | Katsina | 122,500 | ||
| 75 | Abakaliki | Ebonyi | 151,723 | ||
| 76 | Asaba | Delta | 149,603 | 268 | 558 |
| 77 | Gbongan | Osun | 117,300 | ||
| 78 | Igboho | Oyo | 115,000 | ||
| 79 | Gashua | Yobe | 109,600 | ||
| 70 | Bama | Borno | 102,800 | ||
| 81 | Uromi | Edo | 101,400 |
Urban areas
According to Wikipedia, an urban area can be defined as a continuously built-up land mass, which contains urban development that is within a labor market, without regard for administrative or city boundaries. A layman’s dictionary explains and defines Urban Area, as a place of human settlement with high population density and infrastructure of built environment.
The list which is shared below, contain the lists of contiguous urban areas in Nigeria, with a population of at least 500,000 Persons. Take note that these figures here have been taken from Demographia’s “World Urban Areas” study 2016.
Demographia uses maps, satellite photographs to estimate continuous urbanization.
| Rank | City | State | Population | Area (km2) | Density (/km2) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lagos | Lagos | 12,830,000 | 1,425 | 9000 |
| 2 | Onitsha | Anambra | 7,425,000 | 1,965 | 3,800 |
| 3 | Kano | Kano | 3,680,000 | 251 | 14,600 |
| 4 | Ibadan | Oyo | 2,910,000 | 466 | 6,200 |
| 5 | Uyo | Akwa Ibom | 1,990,000 | 729 | 2,700 |
| 6 | Port Harcourt | Rivers | 1,865,000 | 158 | 11,800 |
| 7 | Nsukka | Enugu | 1,735,000 | 645 | 2,700 |
| 8 | Abuja | FCT | 1,580,000 | 225 | 7,000 |
| 9 | Benin City | Edo | 1,355,000 | 228 | 5,900 |
| 10 | Aba | Abia | 1,215,000 | 91 | 13,400 |
| 11 | Kaduna | Kaduna | 1,100,000 | 153 | 7,200 |
| 12 | Ilorin | Kwara | 890,000 | 83 | 10,700 |
| 13 | Jos | Plateau | 790,000 | 70 | 11,300 |
| 14 | Maiduguri | Borno | 765,000 | 155 | 4,900 |
| 15 | Owerri | Imo | 750,000 | 130 | 5,800 |
| 16 | Ikorodu | Lagos | 740,000 | 130 | 5,700 |
| 17 | Zaria | Kaduna | 735,000 | 88 | 8,300 |
| 18 | Enugu | Enugu | 715,000 | 78 | 9,200 |
| 19 | Warri | Delta | 695,000 | 142 | 4,900 |
| 20 | Osogbo | Osun | 680,000 | 104 | 6,600 |
| 21 | Akure | Ondo | 585,000 | 117 | 5,000 |
| 22 | Sokoto | Sokoto | 580,000 | 88 | 6,600 |
| 23 | Abeokuta | Ogun | 520,000 | 62 | 8,400 |
| 24 | Bauchi | Bauchi | 520,000 | 88 | 5,900 |