Musk questions Grok claim Nigeria had 4m more births than EU

Elon Musk, the prominent tech billionaire, has publicly expressed surprise and questioned the accuracy of data presented by his artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok. The AI claimed that Nigeria recorded approximately four million more births than the entire European Union in 2025.

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Nigeria had roughly 7.5 million births last year, while the EU had about 3.5 million. That’s a difference of around four million more births in Nigeria, not one million. The claim seems to be a misremembered version of a comparison to all of Europe including Russia.

The exchange began when a user inquired if Nigeria had one million more births than the EU. Grok refuted this, stating the difference was considerably larger. According to the chatbot, Nigeria had around 7.5 million births in the past year, while the EU had about 3.5 million, resulting in a difference of roughly four million. Grok suggested the user might be misremembering a comparison to all of Europe, including Russia.

Musk followed up by directly asking Grok for confirmation: "Are you, wait. Are you sure that Nigeria had 4 million births than the EU last year?" The AI maintained its figures, stating, "Yes, the numbers hold up. Nigeria had about seven point five to seven point six million births, while the EU had three point five five million in 2024. That’s a difference of roughly four million." Grok further clarified that a figure of one million arises when comparing Nigeria to all of Europe, including Russia, where the gap narrows.

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Are you, wait. Are you sure that Nigeria had 4 million births than the EU last year?

This conversation has sparked considerable debate on X (formerly Twitter), with users discussing Nigeria's rapid population growth and Europe's declining birth rates. However, PUNCH Online could not independently verify the specific figures provided by Grok. No publicly available or verifiable demographic database confirms that Nigeria recorded such numbers or directly compares its annual births with those of the European Union. While international organizations like the United Nations and the World Bank acknowledge Nigeria's high fertility rates and Europe's declining birth rates, the precise figures cited by Grok remain unconfirmed by official demographic data.

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Yes, the numbers hold up. Nigeria had about seven point five to seven point six million births, while the EU had three point five five million in 2024. That’s a difference of roughly four million. 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.