Number of deaths in Nigeria

Nigeria: Number of deaths was 2.68 million in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
2.68 million
Change on year
up 0.3%
World rank
4th
of 229 countries
All-time high
2.69 million
in 2020
All-time low
1.03 million
in 1950
Years of data
74
1950–2023

Number of deaths in Nigeria, 1950–2023

01.0M2.0M3.0M195019862023

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

The most recent figure for number of deaths in Nigeria is 2.68 million, measured in 2023.

The figure is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 6.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of deaths in Nigeria peaked at 2.69 million in 2020 and was at its lowest, 1.03 million, in 1950.

Nigeria ranks 4th of 229 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.

Number of deaths in Nigeria, year by year

Annual values for Number of deaths in Nigeria, 1950 to 2023.
Year Value Change
1950 1.03 million
1951 1.04 million +1.3%
1952 1.06 million +1.5%
1953 1.07 million +1.5%
1954 1.09 million +1.4%
1955 1.11 million +1.8%
1956 1.12 million +1.6%
1957 1.14 million +1.7%
1958 1.16 million +1.4%
1959 1.17 million +1.4%
1960 1.19 million +1.5%
1961 1.21 million +1.4%
1962 1.23 million +1.7%
1963 1.25 million +1.6%
1964 1.27 million +1.7%
1965 1.29 million +1.4%
1966 1.31 million +1.8%
1967 1.38 million +5.2%
1968 1.35 million -1.9%
1969 1.37 million +1.2%
1970 1.35 million -1.1%
1971 1.36 million +0.4%
1972 1.36 million +0.2%
1973 1.37 million +0.7%
1974 1.38 million +0.5%
1975 1.39 million +0.9%
1976 1.37 million -1.3%
1977 1.38 million +0.6%
1978 1.39 million +1.2%
1979 1.41 million +1.4%
1980 1.44 million +1.9%
1981 1.46 million +1.4%
1982 1.49 million +2.1%
1983 1.53 million +2.6%
1984 1.56 million +2.1%
1985 1.61 million +2.8%
1986 1.66 million +3.1%
1987 1.70 million +2.4%
1988 1.74 million +2.5%
1989 1.78 million +2.5%
1990 1.83 million +2.8%
1991 1.89 million +3.3%
1992 1.93 million +2.0%
1993 1.96 million +1.7%
1994 2.01 million +2.5%
1995 2.05 million +2.0%
1996 2.11 million +2.5%
1997 2.14 million +1.8%
1998 2.18 million +1.5%
1999 2.19 million +0.7%
2000 2.20 million +0.6%
2001 2.23 million +1.0%
2002 2.24 million +0.7%
2003 2.25 million +0.2%
2004 2.25 million +0.4%
2005 2.28 million +0.9%
2006 2.30 million +1.1%
2007 2.31 million +0.4%
2008 2.33 million +1.0%
2009 2.36 million +1.1%
2010 2.39 million +1.5%
2011 2.43 million +1.7%
2012 2.47 million +1.5%
2013 2.51 million +1.6%
2014 2.55 million +1.7%
2015 2.60 million +2.0%
2016 2.62 million +0.6%
2017 2.64 million +0.8%
2018 2.65 million +0.5%
2019 2.66 million +0.1%
2020 2.69 million +1.4%
2021 2.69 million -0.1%
2022 2.67 million -0.8%
2023 2.68 million +0.3%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 1.10 million 1.03 million 1.17 million 10
1960s 1.28 million 1.19 million 1.38 million 10
1970s 1.38 million 1.35 million 1.41 million 10
1980s 1.60 million 1.44 million 1.78 million 10
1990s 2.03 million 1.83 million 2.19 million 10
2000s 2.28 million 2.20 million 2.36 million 10
2010s 2.55 million 2.39 million 2.66 million 10
2020s 2.68 million 2.67 million 2.69 million 4

Countries ranked near Nigeria

  1. 1 China 11.68 million compare
  2. 1 Mayotte 852 compare
  3. 2 Cook Islands 127 compare
  4. 2 India 9.51 million compare
  5. 3 Anguilla 96 compare
  6. 3 United States of America 2.98 million compare
  7. 4 Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha 88 compare
  8. 5 Indonesia 2.12 million compare
  9. 5 Montserrat 57 compare
  10. 6 Niue 27 compare
  11. 6 Russian Federation 1.79 million compare
  12. 7 Pakistan 1.60 million compare
  13. 7 Tokelau 2 compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More health data for Nigeria

All data for Nigeria →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of deaths in Nigeria?
Number of deaths in Nigeria was 2.68 million in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest number of deaths recorded in Nigeria?
The highest recorded value was 2.69 million in 2020.
What is the lowest number of deaths recorded in Nigeria?
The lowest recorded value was 1.03 million in 1950.
How does Nigeria rank for number of deaths?
Nigeria ranks 4th out of 229 countries with data for 2023.
Is number of deaths rising or falling in Nigeria?
Over the last ten years it is up 6.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Nigeria data come from?
The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Number of deaths. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Number of deaths in Nigeria. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 August 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/number-of-deaths/nigeria/

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About this data

Indicator
Number of deaths
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
236 places, 17,464 data points, 1950–2023
Last refreshed