Nigeria is one of the six countries whose population will exceed the 300 million mark in less than two decades, the United Nations (UN) has said in a report.

The other countries are: China. India, Indonesia, Pakistan and United States (U.S.)

Listed as one of the 10 largest countries in the world, the Nigeria is said to have a population believed to be growing the most rapid.

Going by the UN report, Nigeria has the potential of dislodging the U.S. as the world’s third largest in another 35 years.

“Among the 10 largest countries in the world currently, one is in Africa (Nigeria), five are in Asia (Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, and Pakistan), two are in Latin America (Brazil and Mexico), one is in Northern America (US), and one is in Europe (Russian Federation).

“Of these, Nigeria’s population, currently the seventh largest in the world, is growing the most rapidly,” said the report. Consequently, the population of Nigeria is projected to surpass that of the United States by about 2050, at which point it would become the third largest country in the world.

The report also projected that by 2050 the populations of six countries are expected to exceed 300 million: China, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and the United States.

The in its latest report released yesterday has projected the world’s population to reach 8.5 billion by 2013, 9.7 billion by 2050 and exceed 11 billion in 2100, with India expected to dislodge China as the most populous around seven years from now and Nigeria overtaking the U.S. to become the world’s third largest country around 35 years from now.

Moreover, the report showed that during the 2015-2050 period, half of the world’s population growth is expected to be concentrated in nine countries: India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Tanzania, the United States, Indonesia and Uganda.

Wu Hongbo, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, whose department produced the 2015 Revision of World Population Prospects, the 24th round of official UN population estimates and projections, noted that understanding the demographic changes that are likely to unfold over the coming years “is key to the design and implementation of the new development agenda.”

UN member states are currently in the process of crafting a successor agenda to the landmark Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which wrap up at the end of this year. A new framework, focused on poverty eradication, social inclusion and preserving the health of the planet, is set to be adopted at a special UN summit, in New York in September.

According to the report’s projections, the current world population of 7.3 billion is expected to reach 8.5 billion by 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion in 2100.

“Most of the projected increase in the world’s population can be attributed to a short list of high-fertility countries, mainly in Africa, or countries with already large populations,” the report said.

At present, China and India are the two largest countries in the world, each with more than one billion people, representing 19 and 18 per cent of the world’s population, respectively. But, by 2022, the population of India is expected to surpass that of China.

And with the highest rate of population growth, Africa is expected to account for more than half of the world’s population growth over the next 35 years.

During this period, the report said, the populations of 28 African countries are projected to more than double, and by 2100, 10 African countries are projected to have increased by at least a factor of five: Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Somalia, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia.

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