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 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,
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 c ...
,
Ibadan, Jos,
Kaduna, 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 second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...
,
Ibadan,
Ondo,
Edo, The Niger,
Niger Delta,
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, ...
,
Abuja,
Kaduna, 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 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 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 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 nort ...
. 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 Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...
. 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 GodRCCG is a Pentecostal megachurch and denomination founded in
Lagos
Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...
, 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) 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, 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 (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
Abuja.
See also
*
Islam in Nigeria
Islam is one of the largest religions in Nigeria and the country has the largest Muslim population in West Africa. In 2021, the CIA World Factbook estimated that 53.5% of Nigeria's population is Muslim. Islam is predominantly concentrated in th ...
*
National Church of Nigeria
*
Nigerian sectarian violence
Religious violence in Nigeria refers to Christian-Muslim strife in modern Nigeria, which can be traced back to 1953. Today, religious violence in Nigeria is dominated by the Boko Haram insurgency, which aims to establish an Islamic state in Ni ...
*
Protestantism in Nigeria
*
Roman Catholicism in Nigeria
The Catholic Church in Nigeria is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope, the curia in Rome, and the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria (CBCN). The present president of the CBCN is Most Rev. Luci ...
*
List of notable pastors in Nigeria
;Statewise
*
Christianity in Adamawa State
*
Christianity in Borno State
*
Christianity in Kaduna State
*
Christianity in Kano State
*
Christianity in Ogun State
*
Christianity in Osun State
References
{{Africa in topic, Christianity in