Between 2020 and 2024, over 52,000 foreign military service members were granted U.S. citizenship, with 3,270 of them being Nigerian-born. Nigeria ranked fourth in this category, following the Philippines, Jamaica, and Mexico. The majority of these new citizens served in the U.S. Army, which accounted for 60% of the military naturalizations, followed by the Navy (20.4%), Air Force (10.6%), and Marine Corps (6.6%).
Nigerian military service members’ naturalization numbers have been growing steadily each year, from 340 in 2020 to 930 in 2024. The average age of these service members was 27, with half being between 22 and 30 years old. Most of them were male, with men making up 73% of the total. This rise in citizenship among Nigerian service members reflects a broader trend in the U.S. military’s diverse recruitment and naturalization process.
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