The Abuja National Mosque appears prominently in the foreground, with the National Christian Centre pictured at far right. Muslims make up a majority of Nigeria’s population, while Christians make up the next-largest share; both groups’ populations have grown rapidly in recent years. (Getty Images)
U.S. President Donald Trump recently called attention to religious violence in Nigeria and raised the possibility of invading the country to protect its Christian minority. The Nigerian government has disputed Trump’s claims that Christians there are being religiously persecuted.
Following the president’s comments, here are five facts about religion in Africa’s most populous country, based on previous Pew Research Center studies.
How we did this
Pew Research Center conducted this analysis as part of our ongoing research on how the world’s religious composition is changing.
Our religious composition estimates for Nigeria were first published in our report “How the Global Religious Landscape Changed from 2010 to 2020.” That report is based on more than 2,700 sources of data, including national censuses, large-scale demographic surveys, general population surveys and population registers. Our Nigeria estimates are based on the country’s Demographic and Health Surveys. We describe how we analyzed this source in the report methodology.
Information about religious restrictions in Nigeria comes from the Center’s annual reports measuring global religious restrictions and social hostilities involving religion. These reports are based on information compiled by European and United Nations bodies, several independent nongovernmental organizations, and annual reports from the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.
This is the latest in an ongoing series of reports produced by Pew Research Center as part of the Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures project, which analyzes religious change and its impact on societies around the world. Funding for the Global Religious Futures project comes from The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John Templeton Foundation (grant 62287). This publication does not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.
As of 2020, Muslims made up a majority of Nigeria’s total population (56.1%), while Christians made up 43.4%, according to our estimates. We estimate that all other groups made up 0.6% of the national population.
The majority of Nigeria’s population is Muslim
Estimated share of the population (2020)
Note: Figures may not add to 100% due to rounding.
Source: Pew Research Center estimates based on Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey data.
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The majority of Nigeria’s population is Muslim
Estimated share of the population (2020)
GroupShare of populationMuslims56.1All other groups0.6Christians43.4
Note: Figures may not add to 100% due to rounding.
Source: Pew Research Center estimates based on Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey data.
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While most people in Nigeria identify as either Muslim or Christian, African traditional religions also shape many Nigerians’ beliefs. For example, about seven-in-ten adults believe that spells, curses or other magic can influence people’s lives.
Nigeria’s religious composition has been a subject of debate. The last census effort to measure religion took place in 1973, but results were not published due to allegations of data falsification. The most recent publicly available data is from 1963. Rumors that the country’s (now postponed) 2023 census might measure religion led the census agency to clarify that it does not plan to include such a question for sensitivity reasons.
A recent academic study analyzing surveys of adults found that Christians outnumbered Muslims in recent decades. However, Nigeria’s population is quite young. Since half of its people are under 18, any analysis that focuses only on adults may miss half the story.
To estimate the religious composition of Nigeria’s total population, including children, Pew Research Center uses data from the country’s Demographic and Health Survey (DHS). Surveys from the DHS project gather demographic information from all household members, including children and adults, in thousands of randomly sampled households throughout the country. Religion is measured only among household members of reproductive age.
Using all available information about the religion of household members, we carefully estimate the likely religious identity of other household members and members of households that do not include people of reproductive age.
Muslims and Christians grew rapidly in Nigeria from 2010 to 2020
Population by religious group, in millions
Source: Pew Research Center estimates based on Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey data.
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Muslims and Christians grew rapidly in Nigeria from 2010 to 2020
Population by religious group, in millions
YearMuslimsChristiansAll other groups2010908900007398000017700002020119980000927700001250000
Source: Pew Research Center estimates based on Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey data.
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The Muslim and Christian populations in Nigeria both have been growing rapidly. From 2010 to 2020, Nigeria’s Muslim population rose 32% to 120 million people and its Christian population grew by 25% to 93 million.
Nigeria has the world’s fifth-largest Muslim population and its sixth-largest Christian population. It is the only country that ranks among both the 10 largest Muslim populations and the 10 largest Christian populations.
Nigeria is one of seven countries with “very high” levels of social hostilities involving religion as of 2022, according to the Center’s index. Both Muslims and Christians have been attacked, kidnapped and killed by armed gangs. Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province have burned churches and mosques.
In the middle belt region separating largely Muslim northern Nigeria from heavily Christian southern Nigeria, tension between predominantly Christian farmers and Muslim herders has produced violent conflict over land and resources.
Other countries with “very high” social hostilities involving religion are Afghanistan, Egypt, India, Iraq, Pakistan and Syria.
Nigeria scores in the Center’s “high” category for government restrictions on religion. The government has used sharia penal codes to prosecute Muslims accused of LGBTQI+ activity and has used blasphemy laws to punish Muslims, Christians and humanists accused of insulting Islam. Sharia courts are present in 12 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory.
RECOMMENDED CITATION:
Hackett, Conrad. 2025. “5 facts about religion in Nigeria.” Pew Research Center. doi: 10.58094/ak9q-1360.