Tech billionaire Elon Musk has shared a claim generated by his artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, suggesting that Nigeria recorded about four million more births than the entire European Union in 2024.
Musk posted the claim on his official X account on Friday, linking to a conversation with Grok, which compared birth estimates for Nigeria and the European Union.
According to the AI chatbot, Nigeria recorded between 7.5 million and 7.6 million births in 2024, while the European Union recorded about 3.55 million births during the same period.
“Yes, the numbers hold up. Nigeria had about seven point five to seven point six million births, while the EU had three point five million in twenty twenty-four. That’s a difference of roughly four million,” Grok stated.
However, the chatbot clarified that the gap becomes much smaller when the comparison includes the entire European continent, including Russia.
“The one million figure comes from comparing Nigeria to all of Europe, including Russia, where the gap narrows to about one point two to one point four million,” Grok added.
Despite the viral claim, Grok has previously faced criticism over inaccurate and misleading responses.
In 2024, the chatbot was criticised for spreading false information about the U.S. presidential election after incorrectly claiming then-Vice President Kamala Harris could not appear on ballots in several states.
It also drew attention after misinterpreting a basketball joke and falsely reported that a player was under police investigation for vandalism.
Meanwhile, concerns continue to grow over Nigeria’s rapidly increasing population.
According to Ejike Oji, Chairman of the Association for the Advancement of Family Planning (AAFP), Nigeria’s population—currently estimated at about 244 million—could reach 450 million by 2050 if fertility rates remain unchanged.
He made the projection during the 8th Nigeria Family Planning Conference held in Abuja in November 2024.
