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World Measure
The population almanac240 countries · 31,365 cities · UN WPP 2024
City profile · Nigeria · Africa

Ilorin

Kwara State · Nigeria
City population
1,080,000
#11
in Nigeria
#1
in Kwara State
#499
worldwide
AbujaIlorin
8.497, 4.542 · 330 km from Abuja
City population
1,080,000
Within the city boundary, not a metro area
Rank in Nigeria
#11
of 268 cities of 15,000+
World rank
#499
of 31,365 cities listed
Share of Nigeria
0.5%
of the national population

About Ilorin

Located 330 km from Abuja, Ilorin has a population of 1,080,000 and ranks as Nigeria's 11th most populous city. The city accounts for 0.5% of the country's national population and is the largest urban center in Kwara State. Ogbomoso, 52 km away, is the nearest comparable city, with a population of 433,030.

This summary is AI-generated from the figures on this page. The figures themselves come from the sources cited beside each value.

Position in Nigeria
#11of 268
LargestSmallest
Position in Kwara State
#1of 8
LargestSmallest

Key Facts

Country
Nigeria
Region
Kwara State
Rank in region
#1of 8
Distance to capital
330 km
to Abuja
Elevation
320 m
Approximate — modelled, not surveyed
Time zone
Africa/Lagos
Coordinates
8.497, 4.542
Record updated
2026-04-14
Entry edited, not measured

City population, GeoNames. GeoNames publishes no year for its population figures, so “record updated” is when the entry was last edited — not the date the population was measured. Elevation is modelled from a digital elevation model rather than surveyed, so it is approximate.

Nearby Cities

All 268 in Nigeria

Closest listed cities by great-circle distance from the city centre.

43KMOffa114K people52KMOgbomoso433K people53KMIgbeti25K people55KMOyan74K people56KMBode Saadu17K people

Compared with the World's Largest Cities

City-proper population against the fifteen largest cities in the dataset.

  1. Shanghai24.9M
  2. Beijing19M
  3. Shenzhen17.5M
  4. Guangzhou16.1M
  5. Kinshasa16M
  6. Istanbul15.7M
  7. Lagos15.4M
  8. Ho Chi Minh City14M
  9. Chengdu13.6M
  10. Lahore13M
  11. Mumbai12.7M
  12. São Paulo12.4M
  13. Mexico City12.3M
  14. Karachi11.6M
  15. Tianjin11.1M
  16. Ilorin1.08M
City-proper figures only. Administrative boundaries differ between countries, so these are not directly comparable to metropolitan-area estimates.
Ilorin compared with the fifteen largest cities
NameCity population
Shanghai24.9M
Beijing19M
Shenzhen17.5M
Guangzhou16.1M
Kinshasa16M
Istanbul15.7M
Lagos15.4M
Ho Chi Minh City14M
Chengdu13.6M
Lahore13M
Mumbai12.7M
São Paulo12.4M
Mexico City12.3M
Karachi11.6M
Tianjin11.1M
Ilorin1.08M

Ilorin Population FAQ

What is the population of Ilorin?

Ilorin has a city population of 1,080,000. That is the population within the city's own boundary, not its wider metropolitan area. City population, GeoNames.

Where is Ilorin?

Ilorin is in Kwara State, Nigeria, 330 km from the capital, Abuja. Its coordinates are 8.497, 4.542.

How big is Ilorin compared with other cities in Nigeria?

It is the 11th largest of the 268 cities of 15,000 or more listed in Nigeria, holding 0.5% of the national population.

Explore

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