Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
Colombia is 23% bigger than Nigeria.
Colombia: 1,140,620 km² (2023) · Nigeria: 923,770 km² (2023)
How much coast is there?
Colombia’s coastline is 3.8 times as long as Nigeria’s.
Colombia: 3,208 km (2026 edition) · Nigeria: 853 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Colombia’s highest peak towers 3,311 m above Nigeria’s.
Colombia: 5,730 m (2026 edition) · Nigeria: 2,419 m (2026 edition)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Nigeria has 4.4 times as many people as Colombia.
Colombia: 53.4 million (2025) · Nigeria: 238 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Nigeria is 5.4 times as densely populated as Colombia.
Colombia: 48 per km² (2025) · Nigeria: 261 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Colombia and Nigeria are practically level.
Colombia: 171.9 cm (2019) · Nigeria: 171.6 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Nigeria and Colombia are practically level.
Colombia: 158 cm (2019) · Nigeria: 158.1 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Colombia is 14 years older than in Nigeria.
Colombia: 31.6 years (2023) · Nigeria: 17.8 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Nigeria have 2.7 more children on average than in Colombia.
Colombia: 1.63 children per woman (2024) · Nigeria: 4.38 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
10% of people in Colombia are 65 or older, versus 3.1% in Nigeria.
Colombia: 10.2% (2025) · Nigeria: 3.1% (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Colombia has produced 0.4 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Nigeria 0.0.
Colombia: 0.4 (2025) · Nigeria: 0 (2025)
How many official languages?
Colombia and Nigeria are practically level.
Colombia: 1 (2026) · Nigeria: 1 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Colombia’s economy is 57% larger than Nigeria’s.
Colombia: $457 billion (2025) · Nigeria: $291 billion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
Colombia produces 2.4 times as much per person as Nigeria.
Colombia: Int$22,640 (2025) · Nigeria: Int$9,532 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Colombia than in Nigeria (Gini 20.5 points higher).
Colombia: 54.4 (2024) · Nigeria: 33.9 (2022)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 8.3% in Colombia, versus 3.1% in Nigeria.
Colombia: 8.3% (2025) · Nigeria: 3.1% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Colombia spends 3.4% of its GDP on the military, Nigeria 0.6%.
Colombia: 3.4% (2024) · Nigeria: 0.6% (2024)
How expensive is it?
Colombia’s price level (US = 100) is 2.9× Nigeria’s.
Colombia: 38% (2025) · Nigeria: 13% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Colombia spends 9.6 times as much on health per person as Nigeria.
Colombia: $644 (2024) · Nigeria: $67 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in Colombia live 23 years longer than in Nigeria.
Colombia: 77.9 years (2024) · Nigeria: 54.6 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Nigeria is 6.6 times as likely to die before turning one as in Colombia.
Colombia: 10.5 per 1,000 (2024) · Nigeria: 69.8 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
Colombia has 6.7 times as many doctors per person as Nigeria.
Colombia: 2.5 per 1,000 (2023) · Nigeria: 0.4 per 1,000 (2023)
How common is obesity?
25% of adults in Colombia are obese, versus 12% in Nigeria.
Colombia: 25.3% (2024) · Nigeria: 12.1% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
8.0% of adults in Colombia smoke, versus 3.1% in Nigeria.
Colombia: 8% (2024) · Nigeria: 3.1% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in Colombia rate their lives 1.25 points higher than in Nigeria.
Colombia: 6.04 (2025) · Nigeria: 4.79 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in Colombia drink 2.4 times as much alcohol as in Nigeria.
Colombia: 4.9 litres (2023) · Nigeria: 2 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
Colombia has 8.8 times as much meat per person as Nigeria.
Colombia: 62.6 kg (2023) · Nigeria: 7.1 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Colombia has 656 kcal more food per person per day than Nigeria.
Colombia: 3,126 kcal (2023) · Nigeria: 2,470 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in Colombia put in 409 more hours a year than in Nigeria.
Colombia: 2,471 hours (2023) · Nigeria: 2,062 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in Colombia went to school 1.4 years longer than in Nigeria.
Colombia: 9 years (2023) · Nigeria: 7.6 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
Colombia welcomed 38 times as many tourists per resident as Nigeria (2019).
Colombia: 0.09 (2022) · Nigeria: 0 (2024)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
79% of people in Colombia are online, versus 41% in Nigeria.
Colombia: 79% (2024) · Nigeria: 41% (2024)
Who has electricity at home?
99% of people in Colombia have electricity, versus 63% in Nigeria.
Colombia: 98.9% (2024) · Nigeria: 62.5% (2024)
How many live in cities?
79% of people in Colombia live in cities, versus 64% in Nigeria.
Colombia: 79% (2025) · Nigeria: 64% (2025)
How many phones per person?
Colombia has 174 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Nigeria 71.
Colombia: 174 (2024) · Nigeria: 71 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Nigeria’s railway network is 65% longer than Colombia’s.
Colombia: 2,141 km (2019) · Nigeria: 3,528 km (2015)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from Colombia fly 36 times as many passengers per resident as those from Nigeria.
Colombia: 0.79 (2023) · Nigeria: 0.02 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 53% of Colombia, but only 23% of Nigeria.
Colombia: 52.8% (2023) · Nigeria: 23.2% (2023)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in Colombia emits 3 times as much CO₂ as someone in Nigeria.
Colombia: 1.8 t (2024) · Nigeria: 0.6 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
77% of Colombia’s electricity is renewable, versus 31% in Nigeria.
Colombia: 77% (2025) · Nigeria: 31.3% (2025)
How clean is the air?
The air in Nigeria carries 3.3 times as much fine dust as in Colombia.
Colombia: 15.1 µg/m³ (2024) · Nigeria: 50 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 58% more likely to be murdered in Colombia than in Nigeria.
Colombia: 24.9 per 100k (2023) · Nigeria: 15.7 per 100k (2023)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Nigeria are 6% deadlier than in Colombia.
Colombia: 16.2 per 100k (2021) · Nigeria: 17.2 per 100k (2021)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Nigeria is on average 3.0 °C warmer than Colombia.
Colombia: 24.4°C (2016–2025 avg) · Nigeria: 27.4°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Colombia gets 3 times as much rain as Nigeria.
Colombia: 3,155 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Nigeria: 1,044 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Quick answers
Is Colombia bigger than Nigeria?
Colombia is larger. Colombia is 23% bigger than Nigeria.
Which has more people, Colombia or Nigeria?
Nigeria has 4.4 times as many people as Colombia (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Colombia or Nigeria?
People in Colombia live 23 years longer than in Nigeria. Life expectancy at birth is 77.9 years in Colombia and 54.6 in Nigeria.
Are people taller in Colombia or Nigeria?
Colombia and Nigeria are practically level (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
