Claim: Youths aged between 15 and 35 account for over 65 per cent or around 130 million of Nigeria’s 200 million population.
Verdict: Insufficient evidence.
Full Text
Ahead of the 2023 presidential election, Bola Tinubu, one of the major contenders, has released his manifesto informing Nigerians of his action plan if elected.
Tinubu has consistently promised to replicate his achievements as governor of Lagos State at the Federal level with his running mate, Kashim Shettima.
The former Lagos governor also said he would focus on sectors ranging from economy to security and education if elected. He also said his government would mainly focus on the teeming youth population of Nigeria, facing unemployment challenges.
Mr Tinubu, in his policy document, said his administration would pay special attention to the youth. The ex-governor also said the youths aged between 15 and 35 account for over 65 per cent or over 130 million of the population in Nigeria.
According to Worldometer, Nigeria has a population of over 200 million people.
In July, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs released the World Population Prospects 2022. According to the report, the world population could grow to 8.5 billion in 2030.
The report also estimated that over the next three decades, Nigeria would likely be the third most populated country, with 375 million people and youths who will account for about 262 million of the population.
“The population in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa is projected to double between 2022 and 2050, putting additional pressure on already strained resources and challenging policies aimed to reduce poverty and inequalities,” the UN said.
In an earlier report, the United Nations noted that the African continent has the youngest population in the world, with about 70 per cent of sub-Saharan Africa under 30, adding that this can be an opportunity for the continent’s growth.
However, concerned stakeholders have ignited a discourse on whether the governments of these countries, Nigeria inclusive, are ready to provide the needed infrastructure to harvest the potential of their young population. Just recently, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) stated that over 130 million Nigerians are multidimensionally poor.
The rate of unemployment among Nigerian youths has continued to worsen. The latest data from the NBS pegged the country’s unemployment rate at 33.3 per cent in the last quarter of 2020.
Verification
Statista showed that half of the country’s population is under 19 years, with the highest age bracket being children under four years old (16.3 per cent).
This is closely followed by children aged 5 to 9. The percentage of male children in this age group is 7.4%, while 7.1% are females. The body further noted that Nigeria has one of the youngest populations in the world.
Another recent data from Statista on the age distribution of Nigeria’s population shows children within 0-14 years representing 43.31%, while the highest age group are those between the ages of 15-64 years old, representing 53.9% of the population.
Also, 2021 data from the World Bank showed that people aged 0 to 14 years old form a major part of Nigeria’s population, with 43.3% of the total population, while those aged 15-64 years old make up 53.7% of the population. Those between the ages of 65 and above make up the least part of the population, with 2.98% of the total population.
There is no data specifically for the population between ages 15 to 35 years old. It is unclear where Mr Tinubu got his data on the youth population.
On the phone, efforts to contact Festus Keyamo, the spokesperson of the APC’s Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), proved abortive as his number was unreachable as of the time of filing this report.
A text message sent to him was also not replied to.
Conclusion
There is insufficient evidence to support the assertion that 130 million Nigerians, or 65% of Nigeria’s 200 million population, represent youths aged 15-35.
