Claim: Lagos is bigger than Ghana in terms of population
Source: King Promise, a Ghanaian musician
Verdict: False
Researched by Samuel Nii Adjetey
Ghanaian musician, Gregory Promise Bortey Newman, also known as King Promise, has claimed that Nigeria’s former capital city, Lagos State, is bigger than Ghana in terms of population size.
The musician made the statement while having a chat with Nigerian TikToker Peller. King Promise was comparing the population sizes of Ghana and Nigeria and their influence on music streaming figures.
In the 29-second viral video shared on X, King Promise is heard saying, “Nigeria is bigger than Ghana; come to think of it, the whole of Ghana is not bigger than Lagos. Lagos is bigger than the whole of Ghana, and it’s not even the capital of Nigeria. So, if you’re doing numbers, it’s not even fair. Ghana has 24 million people; Nigeria is about 300 million.”
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Is the population of Lagos State bigger than that of Ghana?
This fact-check will verify the claim.
Fact-check
To verify the claim, GhanaFact did an advanced Google search and found the following:
According to information on the official Lagos State website, the population size of the state is estimated at 22 million and above.
With respect to the total population of Nigeria, which King Promise quoted as 300 million, GhanaFact found the executive summary of the Demographic Statistical Bulletin 2022 of the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which states that: “The projected population figure for Nigeria in 2022 was 216,783,381 comprising 108,350,410 males and 108,432,971 females.”
Also, from the United Nations World Population dashboard, the estimated Nigeria’s population in 2025 is not 300 million as claimed. It is placed at over 237.5 million.
Meanwhile, according to data from the Ghana Statistical Service, Ghana’s total population from the 2021 Population and Housing Census (PHC) was 30.8 million. This means that Ghana’s population is more than the 24 million figure King Promise referenced.
The United Nations World Population Dashboard also estimated Ghana’s population at 35.1 million people for 2025.
Summary
| Population size | Ghana | Nigeria |
| UN World Population dashboard | 35.1 million | 237.5 million |
| Ghana Statistical Service (2021) vs. Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (2022) | 30.8 million | 216.7 million |
| GSS (projected population 2024) vs. Lagos State (2025) | 33 million | 22 million plus |
The data presented above are to demonstrate the following.
- Ghana’s population is not 24 million.
- Nigeria’s population has not reached 300 million
- Lagos (with a population of over 22 million) is not bigger than Ghana in population terms.
Verdict
Therefore, the claim is rated False!
