Aging in Nigeria: A Growing Population of Older Adults Requires the Implementation of National Aging Policies

Abstract

Abstract While the continent of Africa currently has the lowest share of adults aged 60 and older in its population among all world regions, the total number of older Africans is projected to triple between 2020 and 2050. Nigeria—Africa’s leading economy and most populated country—has the highest number of older people in the continent and the 19th highest across the globe, with the population of Nigerians aged 65 and older projected to nearly triple by 2050. However, the increase in older Nigerians is occurring against the backdrop of extreme poverty, unsolved development problems, socioeconomic inequality, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and a decline in the traditional care and support of older adults. Additionally, the absence of an operational national aging policy or safety net services and programs poses a unique challenge to older Nigerians and their families. In this article, we examined social statistics and the current literature to describe aging in the Nigerian context. Our findings highlight the importance of establishing effective governmental policy interventions for the adequate care and support of older Nigerians and the training of gerontological professionals. This article will describe the demography of aging in Nigeria, significant areas of research, key scholars and publicly available data sets, public policy issues, and emerging issues affecting the health and well-being of older Nigerians.