The proportion of diaspora Nigerians with national identification numbers rose to 25.17 per cent in May 2023. The National Identity Management Commission has registered 427,962 diaspora Nigerians since it launched the Diaspora Registry in 2019.
At least 1.7 million Nigerians live in diaspora, according to the World Bank. The World Bank announced in its 2023 World Development Report: Reports on immigration, refugees and society.
“Despite low income levels, Nigeria is home to nearly 1.3 million migrants and is the home of 1.7 million migrants,” the report said.
In its May 27, 2023 update, the NIMC announced that there were 427,962 diaspora Nigerians registered in its database, of which 178,799 were women and 249,163 were men. When the NIMC launched the service, it said the initiative aims to enroll Nigerians living abroad in its national ID database so that they can benefit from having a NIN. Without the NIN, diaspora Nigerians could not renew their passports and registration was not free.
“However, Nigerians abroad who have a valid passport also have the option to register free of charge each time they return to Nigeria,” the commission said.
“However, if your passport has expired, you will need to renew your Nigerian international passport or obtain a NIN as a requirement to obtain a new passport.”
According to NIMC’s listing on his website, the service is available in 77 countries. Of these countries, 40 are in Africa, 9 are in Asia/Middle East, 23 are in Europe/Oceania, and 5 are in the Americas.
Over 100 million Nigerians are currently registered in the NIMC database. “NIMC registrations will reach a total of over 100 million unique records as of May 27, 2023. Lagos State set a new record with over 10.9 million cumulative registrations.”
To date, 43.28 million women and her 56.75 million men have obtained her NIN. The five states with the highest number of NIN registrants are Lagos with 10.92 million, Kano with 8.84 million, Kaduna with 6.19 million, Ogun with 4.19 million and Oyo with 3.89 million.
