By Folasade Akpan
Nigeria’s estimated population of more than 238 million makes it Africa’s most populous country and the sixth most populous in the world.
Yet, experts say the country’s greatest demographic challenge lies not in the size of its population, but in how it harnesses its youthful population.
About 70 per cent of Nigerians are below the age of 30, presenting enormous opportunities for economic growth, innovation and national development.
However, without adequate investment in education, healthcare, skills and employment, the same youthful population could fuel unemployment, insecurity and social pressure.
This dilemma formed the centre of discussions at the 2026 World Population Day commemoration, with the theme, “Realising the Hopes and Aspirations of Young People — Today and for the Future”.
For 15-year-old Ms Ivana Ituado, however, the debate is not about a distant future.
According to her, young Nigerians are already contributing to their families, schools and communities and should therefore be treated as partners in national development.
“I often hear adults talk about the future as if it is somewhere far away that will arrive one day, but let me respectfully remind everyone, for me and millions of Nigerians, the future has already started,” she said.
Ituado said young Nigerians already had the ideas, energy and talent required to contribute to the country’s development, but many lacked the opportunities and support to translate their potential into results.
“My generation is full of ideas, energy, courage and talent, but we are not being given the fair chance,” she said.
She identified poor access to quality education, youth-friendly healthcare, mental health support, digital opportunities and relevant skills among the challenges confronting young people.
For adolescent girls, she added, inadequate access to menstrual products, clean water, private toilets and supportive school facilities continued to affect their education.
“Those challenges are not impossible to solve. They continue because the right choices and investments have not always been made,” she said.
Against this backdrop, the Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Dr Aminu Yusuf, said Nigeria’s youthful population could become one of its greatest national assets if deliberately harnessed.
“Approximately 70 per cent of our population is under the age of 30. Seven out of every 10 Nigerians on our streets, in our schools and in our markets is a young person,” he said.
Yusuf, however, stressed that a demographic dividend could not be created by population numbers alone, but by investing in a healthy, educated, skilled and economically productive population.
“So we must be clear: a youthful population does not automatically translate into a demographic dividend.
“The question before Nigeria is not whether we have a youthful population. We do. The question is: Are we investing sufficiently in our young people to transform this demographic reality into sustainable national prosperity?”
According to him, Nigeria’s Roadmap on Harnessing the Demographic Dividend through Investments in Young People recognises the need for quality education, relevant skills and healthcare.
It also emphasises sexual and reproductive health services, decent employment, digital inclusion, entrepreneurship, peace, security and social inclusion.
The urgency of such investments is further underscored by the country’s demographic and health indicators.
The 2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey puts the adolescent birth rate at 77 births per 1,000 girls aged 15 to 19, while about 15 per cent of girls in that age group have already begun childbearing.
Similarly, modern contraceptive prevalence among young women remains at 3.3 per cent, while 15.8 per cent of sexually active adolescents have an unmet need for family planning.
To Yusuf, however, the figures represent more than statistics.
“They represent young lives, educational opportunities that may be interrupted and choices that may be constrained,” he said.
Consequently, he urged stakeholders to move beyond programmes designed for young people to approaches that involve them directly in policy and decision-making.
“We must therefore move from doing things for young people to doing things with young people.
“Their voices must inform policy. Their experiences must inform programme design. Their ideas must inform innovation,” he said.
Yusuf said the country’s demographic opportunity must therefore be matched with policies and investments that give every young person a fair chance to develop and contribute.
Similarly, the Director of Planning, Research and Statistics at the Federal Ministry of Youth Development, Mr Anthony Chukwuka, said Nigeria’s youthful population was one of its greatest strategic assets.
He said deliberate investments could enable young Nigerians to drive economic transformation, technological innovation, social cohesion and sustainable development.
“Today’s young people are not merely the leaders of tomorrow. They are partners in nation-building today,” Chukwuka said.
He listed government interventions in digital literacy, entrepreneurship, agribusiness, climate resilience, peacebuilding and youth health, alongside the development of a National Youth Data Bank to improve youth profiling, programme targeting and policy formulation.
He, however, acknowledged that youth development required collaboration among government institutions, development partners, the private sector, civil society and youth-led organisations.
Beyond these interventions, education remains central to efforts to harness Nigeria’s demographic potential.
The Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, said education was the most powerful instrument for enabling young people to realise their aspirations.
“Education provides knowledge, builds confidence, expands opportunities, promotes responsible decision-making, and equips young people with the skills required to participate meaningfully in society and the economy,” she said.
Ahmad said ongoing reforms in the education sector included improving foundational learning, reducing the number of out-of-school children and strengthening teacher quality.
She said the reforms also focused on expanding Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education, promoting technical and vocational training, advancing digital literacy and supporting girls’ education.
Nevertheless, she said young people’s aspirations extended beyond education to include dignity, decent employment, good health and meaningful participation in national development.
“Their voices, ideas and innovation are indispensable to achieving sustainable development and national prosperity,” she said.
From a broader perspective, the United Nations also stressed the need to address inequalities preventing young Nigerians from realising their potential.
In a message for Nigeria, UN Secretary-General António Guterres noted that about 73 million Nigerians, representing 31.8 per cent of the population, were aged between 10 and 24.
He said their aspirations, energy and leadership capacity were among Nigeria’s most powerful resources, but insecurity, inequality, climate change and economic disruption were creating additional pressures.
The UN also highlighted persistent disparities in education, child marriage and reproductive health, noting that one in three Nigerian women aged 20 to 24 was married before the age of 18.
It further reported that adolescent birth rates among girls with no education were significantly higher than among those with higher education.
“The gap between aspiration and reality is not inevitable; it is a product of inequality, and inequality can be changed,” the UN said.
Similarly, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Executive Director, Ms Diene Keita, said young people needed security and opportunities to make decisions about their lives and futures.
She said the organisation’s Demographic Futures Survey showed that most young people still aspired to marriage and parenthood, contrary to assumptions that younger generations had abandoned those goals.
However, economic uncertainty, unemployment, rising living costs, insecurity and unequal access to education and healthcare were making those aspirations more difficult to achieve.
For Nigeria, therefore, another critical component of planning for its youthful population is reliable demographic data.
Ituado noted that the country’s last population and housing census was conducted in 2006, before millions of today’s young Nigerians were born.
“Accurate and inclusive census data are not merely numbers on a page. They help determine our future,” she said.
Reliable population data will, therefore, remain critical to planning and ensuring that schools, hospitals, jobs and social services reach those who need them most.
For analysts and stakeholders, Nigeria’s youthful population represents both an opportunity and a responsibility.
With the right investments in education, health, skills and employment, they say young Nigerians can drive productivity, innovation and sustainable national development.
However, failure to match their aspirations with opportunities could deepen unemployment, inequality and other social pressures.
The challenge, therefore, is not merely to prepare young Nigerians for the future, but to create the conditions that enable them to contribute meaningfully to Nigeria’s development today. (NANFeatures)
Edited by Tosin Kolade