Nigeria to become one of the largest, wealthiest countries in the world by the end of this century- US experts

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Nigeria is set to become one of the largest, wealthiest countries in the world by the end of this century, this is according to a research by a team of 24 scientists led by Dr Christopher Murray and Professor Stein Vollset from the University of Washington in Seattle. The study was published in UK medical journal- The Lancet.

Dr Murray said: “Continued global population growth through the century is no longer the most likely trajectory for the world’s population. The US will remain the top global power except for a period in around 30 years’ time when China will succeed it before dropping down again.”

The research added that India will be the world’s most populated country in 2100 with 1.09billion people. It will be followed by Nigeria (791m), China (732m), the US (336m), Pakistan (248m) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (246m) in Africa.

The population of the UK (currently 66m) will peak in 2063 at 75million before falling back to 71.5million by the turn of the century. In the US (333m) the peak will be at 363million a year earlier, in 2062, before it drops to 336million.

Professor Vollset said: ‘Responding to population decline is likely to become an overriding policy concern in many nations, but must not compromise efforts to enhance women’s reproductive health or progress on women’s rights.’

The Lancet study predicted the population of sub-Saharan Africa — which includes Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya — will triple between now and 2100, from 1.03billion in 2017 to 3.07billion in 80 years’ time as health improvements bring the continent’s death rate down.