Thursday, July 23, 2026

New data shows Nigerians living in UK rose from 90,000 in 2008 to 178,000 in 2021

Italy and Romania ranked fourth and fifth, respectively.

• January 11, 2025
Nigerians in UK
Nigerians in UK[Credit: Premium Times Nigeria]

The number of Nigerians living in the United Kingdom rose from 90,000 in 2008 to 178,000 in 2021, according to a new data report released by the German online platform Statista.  

According to the report, 90,000 Nigerians were estimated to be living in the UK as of 2008, but the figures have almost doubled slightly over a decade later. This makes Nigeria the ninth-ranked country with the largest population living in the UK by nationality.  

The report ranked Poland as the country with the largest population in the UK as of 2021, with 696,000 of its citizens living in the country. India sits second in the ranking with 370,000 citizens living in the UK, and the Republic of Ireland follows closely with identical numbers.  

Italy and Romania ranked fourth and fifth, respectively, with 342,000 of their citizens living in the UK. Portugal ranked seventh with 268,000 citizens, Spain eighth with 206,000, and Pakistan ninth with 181,000 people living in the European country.  

As the only African country in the top ten, Nigeria ranked ninth, while the United States, with 166,000 citizens, completed the list of countries with the largest populations living in the UK.  

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

farmers

Agriculture

FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology

The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

NOA and NOSDRA logos

States

NOA, NOSDRA partner on environmental safety in Kwara

Mr Williams commended NOA for seeking closer collaboration in environmental management.

WHO

States

WHO commends Ebonyi as FGM drops to 20.4%

Mr Ogbueli described the decline as a major milestone in efforts to end FGM.

Jumoke Oduwole

Economy

FG empowers nearly 300,000 Nigerians through skills programmes: Minister

Mrs Oduwole saidthat the ministry was implementing policies to strengthen manufacturing and agro-processing, among others.

Kudirat Kekere-Ekun

NationWide

CJN seeks strong legal protection for maritime sector

Mrs Kekere-Ekun described maritime law as one of the principal pillars supporting global commerce.