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Gusau, 
Nigeria
475,004 people lived in Gusau in 2025. It is the 1167th largest of the world's 12,138 cities, and the 40th largest in Nigeria.
That figure counts the whole built-up area, not the area Gusau governs, so it may be far from the number the city publishes about itself. How the UN measures a city.
Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries
People · every five years · 1975 to 2050
How Gusau grew
Count 10 people in Gusau in 1975 and the same count gives 34.4 in 2025.
On the UN's projection it will have 598,862 people in 2050. It passed 250,000 people between 2000 and 2005.
projected (after 2025) · how sure the UN is: high moderate low
How to read this: one column every five years, 1975 to 2050; its height is the number of people. Hatched columns are the UN's projection. The thin strip beneath says how sure the UN is of each figure: the stronger the colour, the surer. A blank means the place was not on the UN's list of cities that year.
People · your family's years · 1975 to 2050
Gusau through your family’s years
Put in the years your family were born. You’ll see how many people lived in Gusau in each of those years, and when each of them turned 30.
Nigeria · every city · 2025
Where it is
How to read this: Nigeria and its 457 cities in 2025, each a dot whose area is its number of people (the largest is Lagos). Gusau is ringed, in colour; the other cities are grey. Neighbouring countries are outlines.
Area and built-up land · km²
How much land it covers
In 2025, Gusau covered 66 km², and buildings, roads and other built-up land covered 16 km² of it. That is 35 m² of built-up land for each person, about a square 6 by 6 metres. Since 1975, its built-up land has grown to 6.6 times its size, and its people are 3.4 times as many.
How to read this: the outer pale square stands for all the land the city covers, and the solid square inside it for the part with buildings, roads and the like on it. All three squares share a scale, so you can compare them by eye. A hatched one is a year the UN has projected.
Of every 100 people in Nigeria
Its share of Nigeria
Of every 1,000 people in Nigeria in 2025, 2 lived in Gusau, which is 475,004 people.
How to read this: 1,000 squares stand for everyone in Nigeria, one square for every 1,000th person. Count the coloured ones and you have Gusau's share; the grey remainder live somewhere else in the country.
Ranked by people · 2025
Cities of a similar size
In the world, 2025
- 1163 Tomsk Russia477,632
- 1164 Zigong China477,271
- 1165 Orlando United States477,249
- 1166 Etawah India475,213
- 1167 Gusau475,004
- 1168 Annaba Algeria474,367
- 1169 Jinzhong China473,959
- 1170 Oshogbo473,929
- 1171 Ghazipur India473,824
In Nigeria, 2025
- 972 Ondo564,330
- 1076 Minna516,451
- 1105 Ijebu-Ode500,036
- 1131 Ife492,000
- 1167 Gusau475,004
- 1170 Oshogbo473,929
- 1235 Ilesa450,464
- 1248 Ogbomosho445,090
- 1276 Titi436,744
How to read this: the number before each name is its place among all 12,138 cities in the world in 2025; bars are people, on one scale per list. Only cities that reach 300,000 people have a page here, so a gap in the numbers is a smaller city.
Apparatus
Sources and method
The figures for Gusau are the UN's own, at five-year steps: an estimate for each of 1975 to 2025, then projection to 2050. Projected years are drawn hatched, and the UN publishes no range of uncertainty for a city. What a city means here, how the UN measures one, and why that number can differ from the one Gusau publishes about itself: how the figures here are put together.
Sources: UN WUP 2025 · Natural Earth · flag-icons. Every source, its licence and how to cite it →
Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries