Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
Ethiopia is 22% bigger than Nigeria
Ethiopia: 1,129,820 km² (2024) · Nigeria: 923,768 km² (2024)
How much coast is there?
Ethiopia: 0 km (2026 edition) · Nigeria: 853 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Ethiopia’s highest peak towers 2,131 m above Nigeria’s
Ethiopia: 4,550 m (2026 edition) · Nigeria: 2,419 m (2026 edition)
How much of the land is farmed?
Farmland covers 77% of Nigeria, versus 34% of Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 34.3% (2024) · Nigeria: 77.1% (2024)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Nigeria has 75% more people than Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 135 million (2025) · Nigeria: 238 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Nigeria is 2.2 times as densely populated as Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 121 per km² (2025) · Nigeria: 261 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in Nigeria are 2.7 cm taller than in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 168.8 cm (2019) · Nigeria: 171.6 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in Nigeria are 1.0 cm taller than in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 157.2 cm (2019) · Nigeria: 158.1 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Ethiopia is 0.98 year older than in Nigeria
Ethiopia: 18.7 years (2023) · Nigeria: 17.8 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Nigeria have 0.5 more children on average than in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 3.91 children per woman (2024) · Nigeria: 4.38 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
Ethiopia and Nigeria are practically level
Ethiopia: 3.3% (2025) · Nigeria: 3.1% (2025)
How many refugees does it host?
Ethiopia hosts 14 times as many refugees per resident as Nigeria
Ethiopia: 7.5 per 1,000 (2025) · Nigeria: 0.5 per 1,000 (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Ethiopia has produced 0.1 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Nigeria 0.0
Ethiopia: 0.1 (2026) · Nigeria: 0.042 (2026)
How many official languages?
Ethiopia and Nigeria are practically level
Ethiopia: 1 (2026) · Nigeria: 1 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Nigeria’s economy is 2.3 times the size of Ethiopia’s
Ethiopia: $126 billion (2025) · Nigeria: $291 billion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
Nigeria produces 2.6 times as much per person as Ethiopia
Ethiopia: Int$3,622 (2025) · Nigeria: Int$9,532 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Nigeria than in Ethiopia (Gini 2.8 points higher)
Ethiopia: 31.1 (2021) · Nigeria: 33.9 (2022)
How many live on less than $3 a day?
42% of people in Nigeria live on less than $3 a day, versus 39% in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 38.6% (2021) · Nigeria: 41.8% (2022)
How many people are looking for work?
Ethiopia and Nigeria are practically level
Ethiopia: 3.3% (2025) · Nigeria: 3.1% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Nigeria and Ethiopia are practically level
Ethiopia: 0.5% (2025) · Nigeria: 0.9% (2025)
How much does the central government collect in tax?
Ethiopia: 3.4% (2024) · Nigeria: no data
How expensive is it?
Ethiopia’s price level (US = 100) is 2× Nigeria’s
Ethiopia: 26% (2025) · Nigeria: 13% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Nigeria spends 92% more on health per person than Ethiopia
Ethiopia: $35 (2023) · Nigeria: $67 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in Ethiopia live 13 years longer than in Nigeria
Ethiopia: 67.6 years (2024) · Nigeria: 54.6 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Nigeria is 2 times as likely to die before turning one as in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 34.5 per 1,000 (2024) · Nigeria: 69.8 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
Nigeria has 2.7 times as many doctors per person as Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 0.1 per 1,000 (2023) · Nigeria: 0.4 per 1,000 (2023)
How many hospital beds are there?
Ethiopia: 0.3 per 1,000 (2016) · Nigeria: no data
How common is suicide?
The suicide rate in Ethiopia is 2.2 times that in Nigeria
Ethiopia: 14.4 per 100k (2023) · Nigeria: 6.5 per 100k (2023)
How common is obesity?
12% of adults in Nigeria are obese, versus 2.5% in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 2.5% (2024) · Nigeria: 12.1% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
5.2% of adults in Ethiopia smoke, versus 3.1% in Nigeria
Ethiopia: 5.2% (2024) · Nigeria: 3.1% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in Nigeria rate their lives 0.80 points higher than in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 3.99 (2025) · Nigeria: 4.79 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in Ethiopia drink 11% more alcohol than in Nigeria
Ethiopia: 2.3 litres (2023) · Nigeria: 2 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
Nigeria has 3% more meat per person than Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 6.9 kg (2023) · Nigeria: 7.1 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Ethiopia has 88 kcal more food per person per day than Nigeria
Ethiopia: 2,558 kcal (2023) · Nigeria: 2,470 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in Nigeria put in 462 more hours a year than in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 1,599 hours (2023) · Nigeria: 2,062 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in Nigeria went to school 5.2 years longer than in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 2.4 years (2023) · Nigeria: 7.6 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
Ethiopia welcomed 75% more tourists per resident than Nigeria (2019)
Ethiopia: 0.0041 (2024) · Nigeria: 0.0023 (2024)
How many World Heritage sites?
Ethiopia has 10 more World Heritage sites than Nigeria (12 against 2)
Ethiopia: 12 (2026) · Nigeria: 2 (2026)
How many Olympic medals has it won?
Ethiopia has won 62 Olympic medals, Nigeria 27
Ethiopia: 62 (2026 edition) · Nigeria: 27 (2026 edition)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
41% of people in Nigeria are online, versus 22% in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 22% (2024) · Nigeria: 41% (2024)
How fast is home internet?
Home internet in Nigeria is 2 times as fast as in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 22 Mbps (2026) · Nigeria: 44 Mbps (2026)
Who has electricity at home?
63% of people in Nigeria have electricity, versus 57% in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 56.6% (2024) · Nigeria: 62.5% (2024)
How many live in cities?
64% of people in Nigeria live in cities, versus 24% in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 24% (2025) · Nigeria: 64% (2025)
How many phones per person?
Nigeria has 71 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Ethiopia 65
Ethiopia: 65 (2024) · Nigeria: 71 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Nigeria’s railway network is 4.7 times as long as Ethiopia’s
Ethiopia: 754 km (2018) · Nigeria: 3,528 km (2015)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from Ethiopia fly 5.1 times as many passengers per resident as those from Nigeria
Ethiopia: 0.11 (2023) · Nigeria: 0.02 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 24% of Ethiopia, but only 19% of Nigeria
Ethiopia: 23.8% (2024) · Nigeria: 18.9% (2024)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in Nigeria emits 4.3 times as much CO₂ as someone in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 0.1 t (2024) · Nigeria: 0.6 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
100% of Ethiopia’s electricity is renewable, versus 31% in Nigeria
Ethiopia: 100% (2025) · Nigeria: 31.3% (2025)
How clean is the air?
The air in Nigeria carries 2.5 times as much fine dust as in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 20.2 µg/m³ (2024) · Nigeria: 50 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
Ethiopia: no data · Nigeria: 15.7 per 100k (2023)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Nigeria are 3% deadlier than in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 23.9 per 100k (2023) · Nigeria: 24.7 per 100k (2023)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Nigeria is on average 3.5 °C warmer than Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 23.9°C (2016–2025 avg) · Nigeria: 27.4°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Nigeria gets 8% more rain than Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 962 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Nigeria: 1,044 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Between them
People, goods and passports that cross from one to the other
Quick answers
Is Ethiopia bigger than Nigeria?
Ethiopia is larger. Ethiopia is 22% bigger than Nigeria.
Which has more people, Ethiopia or Nigeria?
Nigeria has 75% more people than Ethiopia (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Ethiopia or Nigeria?
People in Ethiopia live 13 years longer than in Nigeria. Life expectancy at birth is 67.6 years in Ethiopia and 54.6 in Nigeria.
Are people taller in Ethiopia or Nigeria?
Men in Nigeria are 2.7 cm taller than in Ethiopia (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
