The National Population Commission (NPC) has said that the current overall life expectancy of Nigeria stands at 52.2 years.
The acting chairman of NPC, Alhaji Hassan Bashir, stated this in New York while delivering Nigeria’s statement at the 52nd session of the United Nations commission on population and development.
According to the World Health Organization, life expectancy refers to the average number of years that a newborn is expected to live if current mortality rates continue to apply.
The population chief said Nigerians “60 years and over currently represents less than five per cent of the entire population, while overall life expectancy is 55.2 years”.
Alhaji Bashir, however, bemoaned the major challenge of unavailability of timely information and robust disaggregated data for tracking progress aimed at achieving the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.
Nigeria’s ambassador to the UN, Prof. Tijani Bande, while delivering a statement on behalf of African group, said Africa recognized the urgent need to unleash the creative initiative and energy of its large youth population.
