At least 176,537 Nigerians were granted British citizenship between 2005 and the first quarter of 2026, according to official UK Home Office data obtained by The PUNCH. The figure makes Nigeria the leading African nationality among those granted British citizenship during the period.
The data, drawn from the UK Home Office’s Immigration System Statistics, also places Nigerians third globally, behind Indians, with 428,577 grants, and Pakistanis, with 321,580. South Africans ranked second among African nationalities with 128,156 citizenship grants, followed by Somalia with 86,972.
The figures cover citizenship granted through both naturalisation and registration from the first quarter of 2005 to the first quarter of 2026.
Nigeria also recorded the highest number of citizenship applications among African countries during the period. A total of 201,077 applications were submitted by Nigerians, placing the country third worldwide behind India and Pakistan.
The number of Nigerians becoming British citizens has increased in recent years. After generally remaining between about 6,900 and 9,800 annually for much of the previous decade, grants rose to 12,562 in 2024, up 41.1 per cent from 8,900 in 2023. A further 12,620 Nigerians received British citizenship in 2025.
The upward trend continued into 2026, with 3,001 Nigerians granted citizenship in the first quarter alone. Citizenship applications also increased from 9,454 in 2022 to 10,668 in 2023, 12,530 in 2024 and a record 15,370 in 2025. Another 4,449 applications were submitted in the first quarter of 2026.
How Nigerians obtained citizenship
The largest category of citizenship grants to Nigerians was naturalisation based on residence, which accounted for 58,680 grants, or 33.2 per cent of the total.
Registration of minor children accounted for another 34,979 grants, while 20,583 Nigerians obtained citizenship through naturalisation based on marriage to a British citizen. Registration on other grounds accounted for 8,219 grants.
Women and men were almost evenly represented. Women received 88,364 citizenship grants, representing 50.06 per cent, while men received 88,073, or 49.88 per cent.
Adults aged between 30 and 49 formed the largest age group, accounting for 55,559 grants. Children below 18 received 41,453 citizenship grants during the period.
Overall, Nigerians accounted for 19.3 per cent of the 912,818 citizenship grants made to African nationals between 2005 and early 2026. They represented 4.8 per cent of the 3.69 million citizenship grants made worldwide during the period.
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