The senator representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) at the upper chamber of the National Assembly, Ireti Kingibe, has claimed in a recent interview on national television that Abuja, the capital of FCT, is the fastest-growing city in Africa.
While reacting to the incessant kidnapping and other insecurity issues in the nation’s capital, Kingibe said: “The truth is because of the influx of people into Abuja. Abuja is the fastest-growing city in Africa, so all the suburbs have more residents. It’s not just the indigenous people it used to be. Now, there are more aliens, as you would call them.”
The rising insecurity and continuous banditry attacks on the residents of the FCT have sparked a media outrage as can be seen here, here, here, and here.
Claim: Abuja is the fastest-growing city in Africa
Verification
The CDD War Room checked to verify the claim and here is what we found.
In the current year (2024), Abuja’s population stands at 4,025,735, with a 4.85% growth rate from 2023, according to the World Population Review. In the last four years, the figures stood at 3.8 million in 2023, 3.6 million in 2022, 3.4 million in 2021, and 3.2 million in 2020. These statistics are supported by another report as can be seen here.
However, despite Abuja’s substantial population growth, a report titled ‘Fastest growing cities in Africa between 2020 and 2035,’ published by Statista in February 2022, did not list Abuja among the top three fastest-growing cities in Africa. In the report, 15 cities across 10 African countries including Nigeria were ranked based on the growth rate of their population.
The report states, “The fastest growing city in Africa is Bujumbura, in Burundi. In 2020, this city had an estimated population of about one million. By 2035, the population of Bujumbura could increase by 123 percent and reach roughly 2.3 million people. Zinder, in Niger, had about half million inhabitants in 2020 and, with a growth rate of 118 percent, is Africa’s second fastest growing city.”
It added, “As of 2021, the largest city in whole Africa is Lagos, in Nigeria. Other highly populated cities in Africa are Kinshasa, in Congo, Cairo, and Alexandria, both located in Egypt.”
Furthermore, Bujumbura’s 2024 population is estimated at 1,277,050, with a 5.8% growth rate from 2023, according to the World Population Review. This is corroborated by a report from Macrotrends.
Verdict: ALL WE KNOW
Despite Abuja’s substantial population growth, reports from the World Economic Forum in 2020 and Statista in 2022 identify Bujumbura, Burundi’s capital, as the fastest-growing city in Africa.