The United States has revealed that 3,270 Nigerians gained U.S. citizenship through military service between 2020 and 2024.
This makes Nigeria the fourth highest among countries whose citizens were granted U.S. citizenship through military naturalization during this period.
During this period, the U.S. naturalized over 52,000 military service members across different countries. The top five countries of birth among those naturalized were the Philippines (5,630), Jamaica (5,420), Mexico (3,670), Nigeria (3,270), and Ghana.
The number of Nigerian service members gaining U.S. citizenship has steadily increased over the past five years. In 2020, 340 Nigerians were naturalized, a figure that rose to 630 in 2021, 680 in 2022, 690 in 2023, and 930 in 2024.
The Army accounted for 60% of all military naturalizations during this period, followed by the Navy (20.4%), Air Force (10.6%), and Marine Corps (6.6%). Less than 1% of naturalized service members served in the Coast Guard.
Half of the service members were between 22 and 30 years old when they naturalized, with a median age of 27. More than 17% were aged 21 and under, while almost 5% were older than 40.
Men comprised 73% of all service members naturalized between FY 2020 and FY 2024, with the proportion of female service members slightly increasing over the years.
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