This report has three main sections, first a brief over view of history and geography, second we discuss conflict trends and finally we look at the socio economic factors.
- Nigeria is one of the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa with the greatest economic and social differences between ethnic, religious, and regional groups. This inequality may contribute to fuel future conflict.
- This development gap is largely between north and south. The Niger Delta and the south-west region are doing particularly well (Maps 22-25).
- Education levels among women vary greatly between the north and the south, coinciding broadly with the divide between Muslim and Christians (Map 24).
- The gap in education between Muslim and Christian women has widened over time, and does not seem to become smaller (Graphs 10-15).
- Overall, Muslim women have on average 1.5-2 years of schooling, while Christian women have 8-9 years.
- Geography is part of the religious divide ion education. Muslim women living in Christian areas do considerably better than Muslim women in Muslim-majority areas, but still worse than Christian women (Graph 15).
- Similar regional and inter-group differences exist for vaccination of children (Graphs 16 and 17). However, there is no real difference between boys and girls (Graph 18).
- The Nigerian population is young and is expected to grow from 182 million in 2015 to 262 million in 2030 and close to 400 million in 2050.
- The country will experience massive urban growth in the same period (Maps 26 & 27; Graphs 19 & 20). Lagos will have the largest growth in absolute numbers. Six cities, mainly in the south, will more than double its population in the coming 15 years.
- The northern areas are less mature demographically than the south, and will face a large youth bulge within the next 10 years (Maps 28 and 29; Graph 21).
- Women living in the eastern part of Nigeria report higher levels of sexual violence than women in the rest of the country. This appears to be related to overall higher levels of domestic violence. In the north east, women report the highest rates of non-partner sexual violence (Maps 30 and 31).
