Nigeria’s internal displacement challenge reached alarming levels in 2023, with a staggering 3,381,228 people forced from their homes across 14 states, according to fresh data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The figures are contained in the 2023 edition of the Demographic Bulletin unveiled on Tuesday in Abuja. The publication aggregates data drawn from administrative records and nationwide surveys, serving as a vital resource for policymaking and academic research.
A breakdown of the data shows that Borno State remains the epicentre of displacement, accounting for a massive 50.62 per cent of the total, with 1,711,481 affected individuals. Benue follows with 11.67 per cent (394,567 persons), while Katsina accounts for 7.23 per cent, representing 244,380 displaced residents.
At the lower end of the scale, Gombe, Nasarawa and Kano recorded the least proportions of displaced persons, contributing 1.55 per cent (52,383), 0.61 per cent (20,580) and 0.46 per cent (15,549), respectively.
Beyond displacement, the report paints a broader demographic picture of the country. Nigeria’s population was projected at 221,250,127 in 2023, with males numbering 112,434,239 and females at 108,815,888, based on estimates from the National Population Commission.
State-by-state figures reveal Kano as the most populous, with 15,671,491 residents, trailed by Lagos with 13,710,862 and Katsina with 10,661,373. In contrast, Nasarawa and Bayelsa emerged as the least populated states, with 2,948,849 and 2,583,352 people respectively.
On health spending, maternal care dominated expenditure in 2022, accounting for 50.22 per cent of capital spending and 52.46 per cent of recurrent spending in the sector.
According to the report, findings from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2021 indicated that the proportion of women with a live birth in the two years preceding the survey who received antenatal care during pregnancy from a skilled provider increased from 50 per cent in 2011 to 67 per cent in 2018.
“However, this proportion decreased slightly to 63 per cent in 2021.
The report also indicated that Anambra had the lowest proportion of women with unmet needs for birth spacing at 3.8 per cent.
This means that only 3.8 per cent of women in Anambra want to space their births, but are not able to access family planning methods.”
In the financial space, remittance inflows remained strongest from the United Kingdom, which contributed 12.38 billion dollars in 2023, slightly below the 12.76 billion dollars recorded in 2022, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Meanwhile, the United States recorded the highest outward remittance flow at 13.12 million dollars in 2022.
The bulletin also sheds light on human trafficking trends, documenting 968 cases in 2023 across both domestic and international channels. Foreign travel linked to prostitution topped the list with 173 cases, followed by procurement for sexual exploitation (120 cases) and the buying and selling of persons for exploitation (102 cases).
On the labour front, the National Electronic Labour Exchange (NELEX) recorded a steady rise in private sector job postings, increasing from 90 vacancies in 2021 to 104 in 2022 and peaking at 150 in 2023. The number of registered employers on the platform also grew within the same period, although no federal government vacancies were advertised.
