So which states in Nigeria have the highest number of women? The single guys may want to know as it may determine their market pool when searching for a wife. But dealers in women fashion would find this data even more interesting. It has an impact on where you decide to set up that fashion store and what you offer.
The top ten states with the highest number of women in Nigeria have more women living in them than the number of people living in neighbouring Ghana. They have a combined population of 29 million women. That is, you find more women living in these states than you can find people living in Ghana. Each of the top ten states with the highest women population in Nigeria has more than two million women living in it.
Kano has the highest number of women in Nigeria – at 4.45 million based on the 2006 national census. Lagos follows closely with a women population of 4.39 million. Kaduna ranks third with a female population of 3.02 million, while Katsina ranks fourth with a women population of 2.85 million.
Other states on the top ten list include Oyo (2.77 million), Rivers (2.52 million), Bauchi (2.28 million), Jigawa (2.16 million), Benue (2.11 million), and Anambra, which closes the list with a female population of 2.06 million.
Single men that may want to relocate to these states to take advantage of the high number of women should forget it. There is no oversupply of women in the top ten states. Actually, each of the top ten states has slightly higher number of men than women. So while you have 29 million women in these states, the population of men is slightly higher at 30 million. So for every woman in the top ten states, there is at least one man.
However, not all states have at least a man for every woman. Based on the 2006 national census, there are four states with more women living in them than men. Enugu tops the list of states with more women than men. Ebonyi, which is also in the South-East, follows closely, while Ogun State in the South-West also has more women than men. Plateau is the fourth state with more women than men. For these states, competition for men for the purpose of marriage is expected to be more intense. However, there are not enough women for every man to have a second wife. Men with an eye for polygamy should take note.
There are also some states that can be said to have an excessive supply of men over women. Kano is number one here with over 495,000 more men than women. Lagos State also has marginally over 300,000 more men than women. Borno is another state with a significantly more number of men than women, while Rivers State ranks fourth among the states with significantly more men than women. For these states, competition for women is expected to be higher, so count yourself lucky if you a man and married. No state has an equal number of both men and women.
Bayelsa, Nassarawa and Abuja FCT have the lowest number of women living in them. All three have less than a million women. They are also the least populated in the country. Of the three, Abuja has the least number of women and also the highest difference between its men and women population. Technically, women are in short supply in Abuja. Actually, Abuja ranks among the three states with the lowest proportion of women to the entire population. Abuja has only 47.9 per cent of its population as women, lower than the national average of 49.2 per cent. The only other states with comparably lower proportion of women to the entire population are Kano with 47.4 per cent and Gombe with 47.4 per cent of women in the population. So, numerically, no Abuja man has a reason to have more than one woman partner.
Temporary and permanent migration can be used to fill the gaps in the places where there are significant differences in the sexes so that no man or woman is left lonely. For businesses like shopping malls, you now know the states you must be to make the most sales. However, BusinessDay Research’s forthcoming report titled “State of the States” will also match state demographics with per capita income so that businesses can make better informed business decisions.
Note: If you want analysis or data on any company or any particular sector of the Nigerian economy or industry or have any other queries that BusinessDay Research Unit can help you with, kindly send a mail to [email protected]/en or call 08185193932. We can also help you with your confidential market surveys and competition analysis at a cost.
ANTHONY OSAE-BROWN
Editor, BusinessDay Research Unit
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