Nigeria's population reaches 190 million inhabitants | Social

The population of Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, has reached about 190 million inhabitants, a figure that goes against that previously announced by the United Nations Population Fund ( UNFPA).

The head of the National Population Commission (NPC), Ghaji Ismail, said at a press conference Tuesday in Abuja that he had arrived at the last figure on the basis of available data.

In April, UNFPA said Nigeria's population had reached 201 million people.

Ismail, however, said that the figure provided by UNFPA was "based on badumptions".

"You have to use templates to get to the numbers you are projecting, the margin of error is very small," said the manager.

The government created the NPC to maintain a continuous and universal registration system for births and deaths across the country.

It also provides population data to facilitate economic and development planning.

Ismail said that it was imperative to conduct another national census of the population as soon as possible.

The last national census of the population carried out dates back to 2006 and corresponded to the world needs of 10 years.

Nigeria should have held another one in 2016.

The head of the population commission said measures were being taken to ensure that the national census of the population is carried out quickly, with the aim of having positive implications for national security.

"We have been preparing for three or four years and there is a process that gives us much hope that it will be resolved soon," he added.

According to data previously provided by the CNP, the population of Nigeria had increased considerably from 17.3% in 1967 to 49.4% in 2017.

In addition, the country's population has recorded an annual growth rate of 3.2% since the last national census in 2006.

Official statistics show that the urban population is growing at an average annual rate of about 6.5%.

Last year, the World Population Outlook predicted that by 2050, Nigeria would become the third most populous country in the world.

According to the forecasts of the world survey, 70% of the Nigerian population will reside in cities.

Having accurate data on the population of a country is essential in planning because it would be used for social, economic, political and other needs, said Eze Duruiheoma, the former head of the NPC, in a previous statement.

Nigeria is currently the seventh most populous country in the world.