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World Measure
Compare · Countries

🇪🇹 Ethiopia vs 🇳🇬 Nigeria

Population difference
102,055,731
135.5M
Ethiopia
237.5M
Nigeria
75.3%
Nigeria is larger by

35 indicators below, published by both countries and set side by side. They differ most on education spending, where Ethiopia’s figure is 7.2× higher.

Indicators compared
35
Published by both countries
Ethiopia
by population · Africa
Nigeria
by population · Africa

Side by Side

Each bar is scaled against the larger of the two values, so the gap is visible rather than only stated.

Population
Ethiopia135,472,051
Nigeria237,527,782
Land Areakm²
Ethiopia1,128,499 km²
Nigeria910,770 km²
Population Density/km²
Ethiopia114/km²
Nigeria250/km²
Life Expectancyyears
Ethiopia67.6 years
Nigeria54.6 years
GDP per Capita
Ethiopia$933
Nigeria$1,224
Urban Population
Ethiopia24.1%
Nigeria63.8%

Bars compare magnitude only. A larger value is not a better one — several of these indicators have no better direction, and for others the lower figure is the favourable one.

Every Shared Indicator

35 indicators published for both countries. Bold marks the larger of the two values — larger is not always better. Ranks are out of the countries that report each indicator.

Every indicator published for both Ethiopia and Nigeria, side by side
IndicatorEthiopiaNigeriaEthiopia vs Nigeria
Population135,472,05110th of 240237,527,7826th of 24043% lower
Annual Growth Rate+2.55%26th of 240+2.06%48th of 24024% higher
Population Density/km²114/km²102nd of 240250/km²58th of 24054% lower
Land Areakm²1,128,499 km²25th of 240910,770 km²30th of 24024% higher
Urban Population24.1%226th of 24063.8%128th of 2402.6× lower
GDP per Capita$933226th of 240$1,224215th of 24024% lower
GDP Growth+9.8%6th of 210+4.0%78th of 2102.4× higher
Life Expectancyyears67.6 years192nd of 24054.6 years240th of 24024% higher
Fertility Ratebirths per woman3.91 births per woman28th of 2404.38 births per woman15th of 24011% lower
Birth Rateper 1,00031.5 per 1,00024th of 21332.5 per 1,00020th of 2133% lower
Death Rateper 1,0005.9 per 1,000161st of 21311.6 per 1,00020th of 21349% lower
Infant Mortalityper 1,000 live births34.5 per 1,000 live births159th of 19469.8 per 1,000 live births193rd of 19451% lower
Unemployment Rate3.3%53rd of 1863.1%44th of 1868% higher
Inflation Rate13.2%19th of 19123.0%11th of 19143% lower
Poverty Rate33.1%116th of 16456.2%154th of 16441% lower
Gini Index31.143rd of 17033.973rd of 1708% lower
Health Spendingof GDP2.8% of GDP182nd of 1924.2% of GDP150th of 19233% lower
Physiciansper 1,0000.14 per 1,000188th of 2060.38 per 1,000158th of 2062.7× lower
Hospital Bedsper 1,0000.33 per 1,000192nd of 1990.50 per 1,000182nd of 19934% lower
Literacy Rate60.5%155th of 17570.4%143rd of 17514% lower
Education Spendingof GDP2.3% of GDP174th of 2020.3% of GDP201st of 2027.2× higher
School Enrollmentgross, secondary33.9% gross, secondary197th of 20746.9% gross, secondary181st of 20728% lower
Renewable Energyof final consumption90.6% of final consumption7th of 21180.3% of final consumption16th of 21113% higher
Forest Coverageof land area14.9% of land area140th of 21123.2% of land area122nd of 21136% lower
Internet Penetration21.9%189th of 21141.2%168th of 21147% lower
Mobile Subscriptionsper 100 people65.1 per 100 people186th of 21270.8 per 100 people178th of 2128% lower
Maternal Mortalityper 100,000 live births195 per 100,000 live births157th of 193993 per 100,000 live births193rd of 1935.1× lower
Military Spendingof GDP0.65% of GDP145th of 1630.56% of GDP150th of 16317% higher
Protected Areasof land area17.0% of land area107th of 21113.9% of land area132nd of 21122% higher
Median Ageyears19.1 years210th of 24018.1 years220th of 2405% higher
Mean Years of Schoolingyears3.0 years148th of 1486.7 years118th of 14855% lower
Human Development Index0.497179th of 1920.560163rd of 19211% lower
Happiness Index/ 103.99/ 10145th of 1644.79/ 10114th of 16417% lower
CO₂ Emissionstonnes per capita0.14 tonnes per capita205th of 2120.58 tonnes per capita175th of 2124.3× lower
Obesity Rate2.5%197th of 19812.1%153rd of 1984.8× lower

Values are each country’s most recent published observation, so the two sides of a row may be from different years — the country pages show the year for each. Bold marks the larger of the two, which is not always the better one.

Population, 1950–2100

Observed to 2024, then the UN medium-variant projection.

EthiopiaNigeria
0100M200M300M400M500M19501971199320142036205720792100projected →
Source: UN World Population Prospects 2024. Values from 2025 onward are projections, not observations.
Ethiopia and Nigeria population, 1950 to 2100
SeriesYearValue
Ethiopia195017.7M
Ethiopia197531.7M
Ethiopia200067.4M
Ethiopia2025135.5M
Ethiopia2050225M
Ethiopia2075309.1M
Ethiopia2100367.3M
Nigeria195037.3M
Nigeria197563.4M
Nigeria2000126.4M
Nigeria2025237.5M
Nigeria2050359.2M
Nigeria2075447M
Nigeria2100476.7M

Reading This Comparison

Size is not the same as rate

Totals and per-capita measures answer different questions. A country can have a far larger economy and a far lower GDP per capita at the same time — both facts are in the table.

Mind the vintages

Each value is the latest available for that country, which is not always the same year on both sides. For indicators that move slowly this rarely matters; for inflation or GDP growth it can.

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