Nigeria plans first census in 17 years next year after security delay
ABUJA, April 14 (Reuters) - Nigeria will next year conduct its first census in 17 years to try to accurately survey its population, estimated at more than 200 million people and the largest in Africa, the head of the national population agency said on Thursday.
Censuses are controversial in Nigeria because rival ethnic and religious groups have in the past tried to use them to assert their numerical superiority and claim a larger share of oil revenues and political representation.