World Bank Group President, Ajay Banga, has forecast that Nigeria’s population will surge by nearly 130 million by 2050, reinforcing its status as one of the world’s most populous countries.
Banga made the projection during the 2025 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
Referencing figures from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which currently estimates Nigeria’s population at 237.5 million, he highlighted the scale of demographic change expected over the next 25 years.
“Nigeria will swell by about 130 million, firmly establishing itself as one of the most populous nations in the world,” he stated.
Banga also highlighted demographic trends across Africa, noting that Zambia is expected to add 700,000 people annually, while Mozambique’s population is projected to double by 2050.
“We are living through one of the great demographic shifts in human history,” he said.
The World Bank chief emphasized that by 2050, over 85 percent of the global population will reside in countries currently classified as developing.
He further noted that within the next 10 to 15 years, around 1.2 billion young people will enter the global workforce , competing for only about 400 million available jobs.
“That leaves a very large gap,” Banga warned.
He added that over the next decade, four young people will join the global workforce every second.
“With their energy and ideas, they will shape the century ahead,” he said.
“So in the time it takes to deliver these remarks, tens of thousands will cross that threshold full of ambition, impatient for opportunity.”
Banga described Africa as the epicenter of the world’s fastest population growth, predicting that by 2050, one in every four people on Earth will live on the continent.
He stressed that with the right investments, focusing on opportunity rather than need Africa’s demographic boom could become a powerful engine for global economic growth.
However, he cautioned that failure to act could have dire consequences.
“Without deliberate action, optimism could give way to despair driving instability, unrest, and mass migration with consequences for every region and economy,” Banga warned.
Concluding his remarks, the World Bank President underscored the importance of employment creation as a cornerstone of sustainable development.
“This is why jobs must be at the center of any development, economic, or national security strategy,” he said.