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Nigeria loses over 279,000 of its citizens to pollution every year – almost thrice the population of Seychelles

Plastic pollution ends up in tap water, whose health risks are unknown, say scientists
  • The Global, Regional, and Country Analysis for December 2019 has revealed some scary effects of pollution on the world.
  • The statistics show that pollution kills three times as many people as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined every single year. 
  • Nigeria has been ranked as the third country with the highest number of premature pollution-related deaths.

Every year, about 8.3 million people die from exposure to toxic air, water, soil and chemicals all over the world.

The latest statistics show that pollution kills 15 times as many people as war and other forms of violence annually.

This makes pollution a leading cause of premature death especially in many smaller low and middle-income countries with poor water sanitation and contaminated indoor air.

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Nigeria is third in the world and first in the continent in premature pollution deaths with 279,318.

For context, this is almost three times the population of Seychelles. This East African country has 98,185 people according to the World Population Review.

Here are 10 African countries with the highest number of pollution-related deaths:

  • Nigeria - 279,318
  • Ethiopia - 110,787 
  • DR Congo -102,477
  • Tanzania - 49,773 
  • Madagascar - 46,876 
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  • Kenya - 45,001 
  • South Africa- 44,274 
  • Chad - 42,765 
  • Niger - 41,284 
  • Burkina Faso - 32,130

The analysis shows that traditional pollution is responsible for more deaths and disabilities than modern pollution in Africa.

Water pollution (especially unsafe sources) is a major issue, followed by air pollution (mostly from cooking with stoves) and lead.

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Overall, India and China have the most pollution-related deaths each year with 2,326,711 and 1,865,566 respectively.

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