Nigeria has the largest Christian population in Africa and the fourth largest in the world, according to new global religious data compiled by Statisense using figures from the CIA World Factbook, Pew Research, and the United Nations World Population Prospects.
The report estimates Nigeria’s Christian population at about 109 million, placing it behind only the United States (219 million), Brazil (169 million), and Mexico (118 million) globally.
The Democratic Republic of Congo follows closely with 105 million Christians, while Ethiopia ranks sixth with 91 million.
With over 220 million citizens almost evenly split between both faiths, Nigeria is a key centre of Christianity’s growth in the Global South even as it faces mounting international scrutiny over alleged religious violence.
The data emerged amid renewed global attention following recent comments by US President Donald Trump, who last week accused Nigeria of permitting a Christian genocide and threatened military intervention if the killings continue.
The Nigerian government has rejected the accusation, calling it misleading and unsubstantiated.
Information Minister Mohammed Idris said Nigeria’s security crisis is not a religious war but the result of terrorism, banditry, and communal disputes affecting all regions.
“Millions of Nigerians Christians and Muslims alike have suffered from violent crimes unrelated to faith,” he said.
Trump’s remarks triggered protests across northern Nigeria, including a large demonstration in Kano on Saturday, where hundreds of Muslim groups marched through the streets with placards rejecting the genocide claim.
“There is no Christian genocide in Nigeria,” read one banner. “America wants to control our resources,” another stated.
The controversy has also drawn reactions from global faith leaders. Pastor Enoch Adeboye, head of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, urged President Bola Tinubu to engage diplomatically with Washington and act fast, move wisely to defuse the tension.
Adeboye called for a 90-day grace period to show progress in tackling insecurity before any external action is considered.
Meanwhile, the Amnesty International 2025 report documented more than 1,800 civilian deaths in Nigeria’s southeast between 2021 and 2023, involving both Christians and Muslims, while noting persistent failure of authorities to protect lives.
The organisation warned that religious framing of the violence risks oversimplifying a complex security crisis.
Globally, the Statisense data shows a continued dominance, with over 2.4 billion fatefuls of the religion worldwide roughly 31 per cent of the global population.
Africa now accounts for more than a quarter of all Christians, a figure projected to grow rapidly as populations in Nigeria, Congo, and Ethiopia expand.
