Nigeria’s housing deficit has risen to about 14.9 million units in 2025, according to new data released by a federal government–backed committee, highlighting the scale of the country’s housing challenge and intensifying pressure on authorities and private developers to deliver affordable homes.
The federal government said the estimate was produced by the National Housing Data Technical Committee, marking the first time in years that the sector has been backed by updated and coordinated data.
For decades, Nigeria’s housing shortfall was commonly put at 17 million units, a figure that lacked a clear methodological basis. In March 2019, then-Minister of Power, Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola publicly questioned the credibility of the number, saying it had been repeatedly cited without proper verification.
“The continuous use of the 17 million figure was erroneous,” Fashola said at the time, urging professionals to rely on data that could be clearly explained and validated.
In response to the data gap, the current Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, inaugurated a Joint Steering Committee on National Housing Data on Aug. 20, 2024, to produce a more reliable assessment of the country’s housing needs.
About one year and four months after its inauguration, the committee released its findings, putting Nigeria’s housing deficit at 14.925 million units. The committee’s chairman, Taofeek Olatinwo, said the figure reflects the country’s housing situation as of 2025.
Officials say the new data is expected to guide government policy, investment decisions and private sector participation aimed at addressing the housing shortage nationwide.
