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

Sokoto

Sokoto · Nigeria
City population
1,040,000
#12
in Nigeria
#1
in Sokoto
#517
worldwide
AbujaSokoto
13.063, 5.243 · 509 km from Abuja
City population
1,040,000
Within the city boundary, not a metro area
Rank in Nigeria
#12
of 268 cities of 15,000+
World rank
#517
of 31,365 cities listed
Share of Nigeria
0.4%
of the national population

About Sokoto

The largest city in Sokoto State, this settlement of 1.04 million people stands 509 km from Abuja. Among Nigeria's 268 listed cities, it ranks twelfth by population and accounts for 0.4% of the national total. The nearest substantial city is Birni N Konni at 82 km away with 85,494 residents; Gwadabawa lies 33 km distant with a population of 17,486.

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
#12of 268
LargestSmallest
Position in Sokoto
#1of 4
LargestSmallest

Key Facts

Country
Nigeria
Region
Sokoto
Rank in region
#1of 4
Distance to capital
509 km
to Abuja
Elevation
296 m
Approximate — modelled, not surveyed
Time zone
Africa/Lagos
Coordinates
13.063, 5.243
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.

33KMGwadabawa17K people75KMIllela17K people82KMBirni N Konni85K people · Niger85KMArgungu46K people98KMTambuwal21K 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. Sokoto1.04M
City-proper figures only. Administrative boundaries differ between countries, so these are not directly comparable to metropolitan-area estimates.
Sokoto 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
Sokoto1.04M

Sokoto Population FAQ

What is the population of Sokoto?

Sokoto has a city population of 1,040,000. That is the population within the city's own boundary, not its wider metropolitan area. City population, GeoNames.

Where is Sokoto?

Sokoto is in Sokoto, Nigeria, 509 km from the capital, Abuja. Its coordinates are 13.063, 5.243.

How big is Sokoto compared with other cities in Nigeria?

It is the 12th largest of the 268 cities of 15,000 or more listed in Nigeria, holding 0.4% of the national population.

Explore

NigeriaAll 268 citiesCountry profileNigeria population & indicators