Population is the total number of people living within a country or a geographic area at a given time. In other words, population refers to the total number of children, adults (men and women), youth (boys and girls) living in a given geographical area, which can be a town, village or country, at a specific time.

The study of the population is very important for many reasons. Such reasons include the determination of the active population, the allocation of resources, the availability of labor, etc. As of 1982, the world population was estimated at 4.5 billion people. With an average world population growth rate of 1.8%, it was estimated that by the year 2000, the world population would have been 6.25 billion. This is not far from the truth since it is about 6,697,254,041, according to the world statistics of the site “100people”. In terms of continents, Asia is the most populous continent in the world, followed by Africa, Europe, North America, South America, and lastly Australia, and Oceania and Antarctica. In terms of countries, China is the most populous country, followed by India, the United States, Indonesia, etc. In Africa, Nigeria is the most populous country.

Population census

This is the count of all citizens of a country at a given time. Refers to the government’s count of all boys, girls, men and women, including those with disabilities, in a country in a given period of time. Censuses are generally conducted every 10 years when a series of censuses has been carried out correctly, it becomes easier, using the growth rate, to estimate the population between count periods. The population census provides information on age, sex, occupation, residence, etc. Take the example of the enemy of Nigeria. In Nigeria, the government conducted several population censuses. The 1952/53 census was 3.12 million people. This figure, according to observers at the time, was an underestimate. Another census conducted in 1962/63, which put the country’s population at 55.670 million. This figure, as of that moment, was over inflated. This generated much controversy regarding its reliability and acceptability. In 1973, another count gave a population of 79 million people. This figure was rejected for double counting and overestimation. In 1991 another population census was carried out. It was given as 88,514,501 people. Since then there has been no ‘true’ census and the current estimate of Nigeria’s population as of 2004 stands at 120 million, 2008- 140 million, 2010- close to 180 million.