{"id":278974,"date":"2025-11-11T12:07:34","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T17:07:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?post_type=short-read&p=278974"},"modified":"2025-11-11T15:18:25","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T20:18:25","slug":"5-facts-about-religion-in-nigeria","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2025\/11\/11\/5-facts-about-religion-in-nigeria\/","title":{"rendered":"5 facts about religion in Nigeria"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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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)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

U.S. President Donald Trump recently called attention<\/a> to religious violence in Nigeria and raised the possibility of invading the country<\/a> to protect its Christian minority. The Nigerian government has disputed Trump\u2019s claims<\/a> that Christians there are being religiously persecuted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the president\u2019s comments, here are five facts about religion in Africa\u2019s most populous country, based on previous Pew Research Center studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How we did this<\/summary>\n

Pew Research Center conducted this analysis as part of our ongoing research on how the world\u2019s religious composition is changing<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our religious composition estimates for Nigeria were first published in our report \u201cHow the Global Religious Landscape Changed from 2010 to 2020<\/a>.\u201d 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\u2019s Demographic and Health Surveys. We describe how we analyzed this source in the report methodology<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Information about religious restrictions in Nigeria comes from the Center\u2019s annual reports<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

As of 2020, Muslims<\/strong> made up a majority of Nigeria\u2019s total population (56.1%), while Christians made up 43.4%,<\/strong> according to our estimates. We estimate that all other groups made up 0.6% of the national population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The majority of Nigeria’s population is Muslim<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
Estimated share of the population (2020)<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Note: Figures may not add to 100% due to rounding.<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
Source: Pew Research Center estimates based on Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey data.<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
PEW RESEARCH CENTER<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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