According to estimations from 2018, Nigeria's major religion is Islam. Over half of the population is estimated to be Muslim. Christian religions make up around 45 percent of the total, with Roman Catholicism being the main branch.

In 2024, Ethiopia had the largest Christian population in Africa, with around 77.5 million people who identified as Christian. The second highest Christian population was in Nigeria, with 74.4 million people. Christianity has a significant presence in Africa, with its history on the continent dating back to the fourth century in Ethiopia. Furthermore, Christianity has spread throughout Africa with different denominations and traditions, taking root in various regions. Some of the largest Christian denominations in Africa include the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Church, and the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements.

Islam and Christianity form the two dominant religions in Nigeria. The basis of traditional religions was systematically exterminated in the religio-cultural life of the Nigerian people after their contact with colonialism. Approximately 90 percent of the Nigerian people have since preferred to be identified with either Islam or Christianity.Nigeria’s contact with Islam predated that of Christianity and European colonialism; its spread was facilitated into Sub-Saharan Africa through trade and commerce. The northern part of Nigeria is symbolic to the history of Islam, as it penetrated the area through the Kanem-Borno Empire in the 11th century before spreading to the other predominately Hausa states. Islam was then introduced into the traditional societies of the Yoruba-speaking people of south-west Nigeria through their established commercial relationship with people of the North, particularly the Nupe and Fulani.Christianity reached Nigeria in the 15th century with the visitation of the Roman and Catholic missionaries to the coastal areas of the Niger-Delta region, although there were few recorded converts and churches built during this period. Christianity soon recorded a boost in the southern region given its opposition to the slave trade and its promotion of Western education. In contrast to the smooth process Christian evangelization underwent in the South, its process in the North was difficult because Islam had already become well-established.Given the philosophy of Islam as a complete way of life for a Muslim, Islam has always been closely attached to politics in Nigeria. The emergence of particular Islamic groups was significantly influenced by international events, particularly the 1979 Iranian revolution and the corresponding disenchantment from the West. These developments shaped Nigerian national politics of the period as Muslims radically redefined their political interests in line with religion and began to clamor for the incorporation of the Sharia legal system into the country’s judicial system. Nigeria then tried to harness opportunities accruable from other Muslim countries by becoming a registered member with the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) in 1985. This inflamed Christians and nurtured the fear of domination by their Muslim counterparts and the possibility of a gradual extinction of their religio-political strength in the national political structure. The distinct religious separation has also instigated violence in present-day Nigeria, including the Sharia riot in Kaduna in 2000, ongoing ethno-religious violence in Jos since 2001, and the 2011 post-election violence that erupted in some northern states. Nigerians’ continued loyalty to religion compared to that of the country continues to sustain major political debate, conflict, and violent outbreaks between populations of the two faiths.

ISO3 - International Organization for Standardization 3-digit country code

AREA_AFF - Geographic area affected by disease

DT_START - Date health event started

DT_END - Date health event ended

TYPE - Type of disease group

DISEASE - Name of disease

NUM_DTH - Number of people reported dead from disease

NUM_AFF - Number of people affected from disease

SOURCE_DT - Source creation date

SOURCE - Primary source

Collection

This HGIS was created using information collected from several websites. EM-DAT, the World Health Organization, and news reports provided information about the outbreaks.

The data included herein have not been derived from a registered survey and should be considered approximate unless otherwise defined. While rigorous steps have been taken to ensure the quality of each dataset, DigitalGlobe Analytics is not responsible for the accuracy and completeness of data compiled from outside sources.

Sources (HGIS)

Egunganga, Vincent, Ami Sadiq, and Hir Joseph. All AfricaHIR JOSEPH, "Nigeria: Lassa Fever Returns Vicio." Last modified March 09, 2013. Accessed April 16, 2013. http://allafrica.com/.

EM DAT, "Country Database; Nigeria." Last modified March 2013. Accessed April 16, 2013. http://www.emdat.be/.

World Health Organization, "Global Health Observatory; Nigeria." Last modified 2012. Accessed April 16, 2013. http://www.who.int/en/.

Sources (Metadata)

Encyclopedia of the Nations, "Nigeria Country Specific Information." Last modified 2013. Accessed March 28, 2013. http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com.

Kates, Jennifer, and Alyssa Wilson Leggoe. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, "HIV/AIDS; The HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Nigeria." Last modified October 2005. Accessed April 16, 2013. http://www.kff.org/.

United States Embassy in Nigeria, "Nigeria Malaria Fact Sheet." Last modified December 2011. Accessed April 16, 2013. http://nigeria.usembassy.gov.

World Health Organization, "Global Task Force on Cholera Control." Last modified January 18, 2012. Accessed April 16, 2013. http://www.who.int/.

World Health Organization, "Meningococcal disease: situation in the African Meningitis Belt." Last modified 2012. Accessed March 14, 2013. http://www.who.int/csr/don/2012_05_24/en/index.html.

In 2024, Nigeria had the largest Muslim population in Africa, with around 105 million people who belonged to an Islamic denomination. Egypt and Algeria followed with 90.4 million and 39.4 million Muslims, respectively. Muslims have a significant presence in Africa, with an estimated 50 percent of the continent's population identifying as Muslim. The spread of Islam in Africa began in the 7th century with the arrival of Arab traders, and it continued through Islamic scholars and missionaries.

Christianity is the major religion in numerous African countries. As of 2024, around 96 percent of the population of Zambia was Christian, representing the highest percentage on the continent. Seychelles and Rwanda followed with roughly 95 percent and 94 percent of the population being Christian, respectively. While these countries present the highest percentages, Christianity was also prevalent in many other African nations. For instance, in South Africa, Christianity was the religion of nearly 85 percent of the people, while the share corresponded to 71 percent in Ghana. Religious variations across Africa Christianity and Islam are the most practiced religions in Africa. Christian adherents are prevalent below the Sahara, while North Africa is predominantly Muslim. In 2020, Christians accounted for around 60 percent of the Sub-Saharan African population, followed by Muslims with a share of roughly 30 percent. In absolute terms, there were approximately 650 million Christians in the region, a number forecast to increase to over one billion by 2050. In contrast, Islam is most prevalent in North Africa, being the religion of over 90 percent of the population in Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Libya. Christianity in the world As opposed to other religions, Christianity is widely spread across continents worldwide. In fact, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Europe each account for around 25 percent of the global Christian population. By comparison, Asia-Pacific and North America make up 13 percent and 12 percent of Christians worldwide, respectively. In several regions, Christians also suffer persecution on religious grounds. Somalia and Libya presented the most critical situation in Africa in 2021, reporting the strongest suppression of Christians worldwide just after North Korea and Afghanistan.

Islam is the major religion in many African countries, especially in the north of the continent. In Comoros, Libya, Western Sahara, at least 99 percent of the population was Muslim as of 202. These were the highest percentages on the continent. However, also in many other African nations, the majority of the population was Muslim. In Egypt, for instance, Islam was the religion of 79 percent of the people. Islam and other religions in Africa Africa accounts for an important share of the world’s Muslim population. As of 2019, 16 percent of the Muslims worldwide lived in Sub-Saharan Africa, while 20 percent of them lived in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Together with Christianity, Islam is the most common religious affiliation in Africa, followed by several traditional African religions. Although to a smaller extent, numerous other religions are practiced on the continent: these include Judaism, the Baha’i Faith, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Number of Muslims worldwide Islam is one of the most widespread religions in the world. There are approximately 1.9 billion Muslims globally, with the largest Muslim communities living in the Asia-Pacific region. Specifically, Indonesia hosts the highest number of Muslims worldwide, amounting to over 200 million, followed by India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Islam is also present in Europe and America. The largest Islamic communities in Europe are in France (5.72 million), Germany (4.95 million), and the United Kingdom (4.13 million). In the United States, there is an estimated number of around 3.45 million Muslims.

ethnic groups in Nigeria. name, image, country of origin, continent of origin, Language, Religion, religion, population

In 2024, Nigeria accounted for 7.08 percent of the global Muslim population, the highest share among African countries. Egypt and Algeria followed, with shares of 6.12 percent and 2.67 percent, respectively. Islam has a significant presence in Africa, with an estimated 50 percent of the continent's population identifying as Muslim. The spread of Islam in Africa began in the 7th century with the arrival of Arab traders, and later continued through Islamic scholars and missionaries.

In 2020, around 98.5 percent of the Iranian population identified as Muslim. Around 81 percent identified as Shia Muslims in the same year, while a much smaller share followed the Sunni Muslim religion. In Iran, most Sunni Muslims belong to ethnic minority groups.

Iran’s demographics
The total population in Iran has grown steadily and is expected to surpass 90 million in 2028. The vast majority of the population in the country was between 15 and 64 years of age. At the same time, the share of people aged above 64 increased in recent years and constituted over seven percent of the total population.

Muslim population worldwide

In Europe, it was estimated that the Muslim population could triple by the middle of the century. In Southeast Asia, Indonesia had the largest share of Muslims as a proportion of its population. On the African continent, the highest number of Muslims was estimated in Nigeria, with close to a hundred million Islam followers. In the United States, less than one percent of the population identified as Muslims.

Qualitative data from collaborative research undertaken in Nigeria and Solomon Islands by researchers from the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations (Coventry University) and colleagues from the Anglican network of churches worldwide. 2014.

Includes transcripts of individual and groups interviews, focus groups and community forums and researcher participant observation notes. Also includes notes from the 'Promoting Peace, Preventing Violence' consultation with global church leaders that contributed to developing the research insights.

Research in Nigeria was focused in Jos and Kaduna, both cities that have experienced significant ethno-religious conflict. The researchers engaged with 249 respondents across 30 organisations in 32 sessions.

Field research in Solomon Islands took place in the capital Honiara. The team interviewed 20+ leaders from key groups inside and outside of the church and visited Tabalia, the home of the Melanesian Brotherhood.

The aim of the project is to answer three questions about the role of churches and other faith groups in helping to spot early signs of violence and stop it from happening.

1) what is distinctive about faith-based approaches and what makes them different from the activities that are carried out by people who are not working from a faith point of view

2) what are the dilemmas that emerge when faith groups get involved in trying the prevent violence and what possible tensions can we foresee with people who do not share their beliefs

3) what scope is there for improving the work that churches and faith groups do to help prevent violence and what changes do we need to make for this to happen.

The research will help us to know more about the work taking place, helping churches and their partners to plan effectively. Activities to ensure that the research makes a difference include a high-level meeting of people from the church, government and charities hosted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, sessions with Bishops in the House of Lords and the production of a set of resources on conflict prevention for church-goers in conflict areas.

Baseline socio-demographic characteristics of the participants. N = 147.

In 2022, a survey conducted in Nigeria regarding activities during Ramadan found that 85 percent of people would spend more time worshiping. In addition, approximately 58 percent of people reported that they would spend time gathering with family, friends, and relatives.

Socio-demographic characteristics of adolescents in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

In 2022, a survey conducted in Nigeria showed that 28 percent of respondents would start their Ramadan preparations one to two weeks before the start of the Holy month. This made up the highest share of people. However, over 50 percent of people would start preparing from three weeks to over a month.

According to a survey on Ramadan conducted in 2022, the share of respondents in Nigeria who reported that the coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions would affect their ability to celebrate Ramadan was significantly lower than in 2021. In 2022, some 17 percent of the respondents stated that their ability to celebrate Ramadan and Eid would be affected compared to 51 percent the year before.

Religious adherence varies widely between countries and regions across the globe. While in some countries, such as Bangladesh (majority-Muslim), Thailand (majority-Buddhist), and Nigeria (over 50 percent Muslim and 45 percent Christian), almost all people indicate that religion is important in their daily lives, in others such as Japan, Sweden, and Estonia, over three quarters of people do not believe that religion is important to them. Among countries with higher levels of religious adherence, there are some interesting cases. Predominantly Islamic countries, such as Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia, tend to show high levels of religious adherence. Italy, the historical center of the Catholic Church, records much higher levels of religiosity than other Western European countries, such as France, Germany, or the UK. The United States has almost double the number of people saying they believe religion is important in their daily life than not important. While religious adherence has declined over the past half century in the U.S., waves of immigration from predominantly Catholic countries, as well as the cultural impact of Evangelical Protestantism in some areas has meant that it is still one of the most religious Western countries. Israel, in spite of being an officially Jewish state, records roughly half of respondents being religious. Another notable trend is the tendency of some post-communist countries to show lower levels of religiosity, likely a result of the policy of state atheism under communism - Russia, Belarus, and Estonia all come towards the least religious end of the list for this reason, although Poland, or former-Soviet states in the Caucuses and Central Asia show much higher levels of religious adherence.

Niger has the highest child marriage rate in the world among girls. According to the most recent data, in this West African country, more than three fourths of girls aged under 18 were married, with nearly 30 percent of them being younger than 15 years old. The Central African Republic, Chad, and Mali followed behind with rates ranging from 61 to 54 percent. This issue is globally spread, particularly in African countries. In many of these countries, the legal age to get married is lower for females than for males. In Niger and Chad, for instance, the legal age is 15 years for females and 18 for males. In Guinea, instead, the legal age for marriage is 17 for females and 18 for males. Child marriage is often related to poverty, with poor families choosing to marry away their girls both in order to earn money as a wedding gift and as this means fewer mouths to feed.