Christians in Nigeria comprise an estimated 49.3% of the population. Citing a 2012 Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion and Public Life Survey Christians are dominant in the southern (south-east/south-south/South west and

central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

region in Nigeria. According to the Pew Research Center, Nigeria has the largest Christian population of any country in Africa, with more than 80 million persons in Nigeria belonging to the church with various denominations. The majority of Christians in Nigeria are Protestant.

Denominations

Figures in the most recent edition of The World Christian Encyclopedia (Johnson and Zurlo 2020) draw on figures assembled and updated as part of the World Christian Database (WCD); these put those who identify as Christians on 46.3%, and Muslims on 46.2 and ‘ethnic religions’ on 7.2%.

Statistics

Roman Catholicism in Nigeria

The Catholic Church has an increase of followers in Nigeria. In 2005, there were an estimated 19 million baptised Catholics in Nigeria. The Archdioceses of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

are Abuja,

Benin City Benin City is the capital and largest city of Edo State, Edo State, Nigeria. It is the fourth-largest city in Nigeria according to the 2006 census, after Lagos, Kano (city), Kano, and Ibadan, with a population estimate of about 3,500,000 as of ...

Calabar Calabar (also referred to as Callabar, Calabari, Calbari and Kalabar) is the capital city of Cross River State, Nigeria. It was originally named Akwa Akpa, in the Efik language. The city is adjacent to the Calabar and Great Kwa rivers and cre ...

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 3,649,000 as of 2021, and over 6 million people within its me ...

, Jos,

Kaduna Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade Centre and a major transportation hub as the gateway to northern Nige ...

, Lagos, Onitsha, and

Owerri Owerri ( , ) is the capital city of Imo State in Nigeria, set in the heart of Igboland. It is also the state's largest city, followed by Orlu, Okigwe and Ohaji/Egbema. Owerri consists of three Local Government Areas including Owerri Municipal, ...

Cardinal

Francis Arinze Francis Arinze (born 1 November 1932) is a Nigerian cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments from 2002 to 2008 and before that led the Secretariat for Non-Christ ...

is a Roman Catholic Cardinal from Nigeria.

Anglican Church of Nigeria

The ecclesiastical provinces of the

Church of Nigeria The Church of Nigeria is the Anglican church in Nigeria. It is the second-largest province in the Anglican Communion, as measured by baptised membership (not by attendance), after the Church of England. it gives its membership as "over 18 mi ...

are

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

Ondo Ondo may refer to: Japan * Ondo, Hiroshima * Ondo (music), a style of folk music * ''Ondo'' class oiler, ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy Nigeria * Ondo City * Ondo State * Roman Catholic Diocese of Ondo * Ondo Kingdom (c. 1510–1899) People ...

, Edo, The Niger,

Niger Delta The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopolitical ...

Abuja Abuja () is the capital and eighth most populous city of Nigeria. Situated at the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is a planned city built mainly in the 1980s based on a master plan by International Plann ...

, and Jos. Its primate is

Nicholas Dikeriehi Orogodo Okoh Nicholas Dikeriehi Orogodo Okoh (born 10 November 1952, at Owa-Alero in the Delta State) is the former archbishop of Abuja Province and primate of the Church of Nigeria in the Anglican Communion. He retired on 25 March 2020. He has been married ...

. The Church of Nigeria claims about 18 million members with an estimated 2 million members being active.

The Apostolic Church Nigeria

The Apostolic Church Nigeria The Apostolic Church Nigeria is a Pentecostal Christian denomination in Nigeria with its national headquarters at Olorunda Ketu, Lagos and international headquarters in Penygroes, UK. History The church has its origins in the founding of a prayer ...

is a Pentecostal Christian denomination in Nigeria, affiliated with the Apostolic Church. Its headquarters is in Lagos. It has 4.5 million members.

Assemblies of God

The

General Council of the Assemblies of God Nigeria The General Council of the Assemblies of God, Nigeria is a Pentecostal Christian denomination in Nigeria affiliated with the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, with headquarters in Opkoto, Ebonyi State. In November 2022, Abel Amadi was elected t ...

has its origins in the Nigerian Church of Jesus Christ and a partnership with the Assemblies of God USA in 1934. The council was founded in 1964. It had 16,300 churches and 3.6 million members as of 2019.

Church of Christ in Nigeria

The Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN), formerly

Church of Christ in Nigeria The Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN), formerly Church of Christ in Nigeria, is a Christian denomination in Nigeria. It was founded in 1904. Its current headquarters is in Jos, Plateau State. Its current president is Rev. Prof. Dachollom Datiri, ...

, is a Christian denomination in Nigeria. It was founded in 1904. Its headquarters is in Jos, Plateau State. It used to have the name of Ekklesiyar Kristi A Nigeria. It is estimated to have over 8,000,000 members.

Evangelical Church Winning All

The

Evangelical Church Winning All The Evangelical Church Winning All, previously known as the Evangelical Church of West Africa, is one of the largest Christian denominations in Nigeria, with about ten million members. ECWA is a partner church of the international Christian miss ...

has about 6000 congregations and 6 million members. It was founded by SIM, a missions organization established in Nigeria in 1893.

Evangelical Reformed Church of Christ

The Evangelical Reformed Church of Christ was formed in Nasarawa State on 8 July 1916. The church has approximately 1.5 million members.

Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria

The

Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria The Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria (LCCN) is a major Lutheranism, Lutheran Christian denomination, denomination in Nigeria, a member of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). It was established as an independent church in 1913 from the Suda ...

(LCCN) is a major Lutheran denomination in Nigeria, a member of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). It was established as an independent church in 1913 from the Sudan United Mission, Danish Branch (SUMD), known today as Mission Afrika. The LCCN now has an estimated 2,200,000 members in over 2,400 congregations nationwide.

Methodist Church Nigeria

The

Methodist Church Nigeria Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's br ...

is one of the largest Methodist denominations in the world and one of the largest Christian churches in Nigeria, with around two million members in 2000 congregations. It has seen exponential growth since the turn of the millennium.

Nigerian Baptist Convention

The

Nigerian Baptist Convention Nigerian Baptist Convention is a Baptist Christian denomination, affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance, in Nigeria. The office headquarters is in Ibadan, Nigeria. Rev. Dr. Israel Adélaní Àkànjí MFA is the president. History The Nige ...

has about 6.5 million baptized members spread across the nation. The Baptist work was started by Thomas Jefferson Bowen in 1850. It currently has thirty five conferences in different ecclesiastical in Nigeria. It has its headquarter in Dugbe, Ibadan, Oyo State.

Presbyterian Church of Nigeria

The

Presbyterian Church of Nigeria The Presbyterian Church of Nigeria is a Presbyterian church in the Nigeria and subscribes to the Westminster Confession of Faith. The denomination has ten synods, more than 50 presbyteries and over 4,000 congregations, and almost 8,000 ministers a ...

has almost 4 million members in thousands of congregations mainly in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, but has regional Presbytery in

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

as well as in

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

. It was founded in the mid-1800s, by ministers of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

. It is a member of the

World Communion of Reformed Churches The World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) is the largest association of Calvinist churches in the world. It has 230 member denominations in 108 countries, together claiming an estimated 80 million people, thus being the fourth-largest Chris ...

Redeemed Christian Church of God

The

Redeemed Christian Church of God The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) is a Pentecostal megachurch and denomination founded in Lagos, Nigeria. The General overseer (most senior pastor) is Enoch Adeboye, ordained in 1981. The church in Lagos had an average church attendanc ...

RCCG
is a Pentecostal megachurch and denomination founded in

, Nigeria. The General overseer (most senior pastor) is

Enoch Adeboye Enoch Adejare Adeboye (born 2 March 1942) is a Nigerian pastor and General Overseer of Redeemed Christian Church of God. Early life Enoch Adejare Adeboye was born on 2 March 1942 in Ifewara, near Ife, in the then Southern Region, British Nig ...

, ordained in 1981. In 2008, it had 14,000 churches and 5 million members in Nigeria.

QIC-United Evangelical Church

The QIC-United Evangelical Church (Founded as Qua Iboe Church) is a Christian denomination in Nigeria. It has existed since 1887. It has more than 1,000 congregations and 2,000,000 members.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church

The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Nigeria as of 2016 has close to 250,000 members throughout Nigeria divided into three different conferences.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Within Nigeria, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also has a growing presence. As of January 1, 2012, the church claims more than 100,000 members in the country and has established 315 congregations. The church announced creation of new Owerri mission in Nigeria in 2016.

Other

In 1970, 87,000 Jehovah's Witnesses were present in Nigeria, which grew to more than 360,000 by 2014. The New Apostolic Church reports for 2016 300.000 members in 1. Aladura is a classification of churches that abide by a Christian religious denomination or trend inspired by activities of progressive church elements, J.B Sadare, D.O. Odubanjo, I.O Sanya and others in 1918. The denomination has over 3 million adherents worldwide. The Aladura movement started at Ijebu-Ode, Nigeria in 1918. This movement later metamorphosed to Living Faith Church Worldwide (whose headquarters is the Faith Tabernacle) and to the Christ Apostolic Church. The

Church of the Lord (Aladura) The Church of the Lord (Aladura) is an African Initiated Church founded by Josiah Olunowo Ositelu in 1925, and inaugurated in 1930 in Ogere Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria. Ositelu was born on 15 May 1900 at Ogere, ?ijebu-Remo, Ogun State in Nigeria. "A ...

is an African Initiated Church founded by Josiah Olunowo Ositelu in 1925, and inaugurated in 1930 in Ogere Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria. Ositelu was born on 15 May 1900 at Ogere, ijebu-Remo, Ogun State in Nigeria. Since the 1990s, there has been significant growth in many other churches, independently started in Africa by Africans, particularly the evangelical Protestant ones. These includes the mostly charismatic and Pentecostal denominations such as

Mountain of Fire and Miracles The Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM) is a Pentecostal denomination founded in Yaba, Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria in 1989, now with churches in several countries. It was founded by Dr. Daniel Kolawole Olukoya ("DKO"). Many publication ...

Christ Embassy Christ Embassy (also known as LoveWorld Incorporated or Believers' Loveworld) is a megachurch and Christian denomination founded by Pastor Chris Oyakhilome in 1987. The Church, with the headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria, has since become a global ...

, Streams of Joy International,

Celestial Church of Christ The Celestial Church of Christ (CCC) is a church founded in Africa by Samuel Oshoffa on 29 September 1947 in Porto-Novo, Benin. It is located in most countries worldwide including the United States and various countries in Africa. History Oshof ...

and Dominion City. These churches have further many millions of members and followers in Nigeria.

National Church of Nigeria, Abuja

The

National Church of Nigeria The National Christian Centre (previously known as the National Ecumenical Centre and sometimes known as the National Church of Nigeria) is a Christian place of worship in Nigeria's capital, Abuja. It is located in Abuja, the capital city. The c ...

(previously known as the Nigerian Ecumenical Centre and officially known as the National Christian Centre) is a non-denominational church building of the Christian Association of Nigeria, the umbrella body of many of Nigeria's Christian denominations. The church is located in

References

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