Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
Nigeria is 52% bigger than France
France: 606,410 km² (2024) · Nigeria: 923,768 km² (2024)
How much coast is there?
France’s coastline is 5.7 times as long as Nigeria’s
France: 4,853 km (2026 edition) · Nigeria: 853 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
France’s highest peak towers 2,391 m above Nigeria’s
France: 4,810 m (2026 edition) · Nigeria: 2,419 m (2026 edition)
How much of the land is farmed?
Farmland covers 77% of Nigeria, versus 53% of France
France: 52.8% (2024) · Nigeria: 77.1% (2024)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Nigeria has 3.5 times as many people as France
France: 68.7 million (2025) · Nigeria: 238 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Nigeria is 2 times as densely populated as France
France: 128 per km² (2025) · Nigeria: 261 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in France are 7.0 cm taller than in Nigeria
France: 178.6 cm (2019) · Nigeria: 171.6 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in France are 6.4 cm taller than in Nigeria
France: 164.5 cm (2019) · Nigeria: 158.1 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in France is 24 years older than in Nigeria
France: 41.8 years (2023) · Nigeria: 17.8 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Nigeria have 2.8 more children on average than in France
France: 1.61 children per woman (2024) · Nigeria: 4.38 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
23% of people in France are 65 or older, versus 3.1% in Nigeria
France: 22.5% (2025) · Nigeria: 3.1% (2025)
How many refugees does it host?
France hosts 22 times as many refugees per resident as Nigeria
France: 11.5 per 1,000 (2025) · Nigeria: 0.5 per 1,000 (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
France has produced 9.5 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Nigeria 0.0
France: 9.5 (2026) · Nigeria: 0.042 (2026)
How many official languages?
France and Nigeria are practically level
France: 1 (2026) · Nigeria: 1 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
France’s economy is 12 times the size of Nigeria’s
France: $3.37 trillion (2025) · Nigeria: $291 billion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
France produces 6.7 times as much per person as Nigeria
France: Int$63,975 (2025) · Nigeria: Int$9,532 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Nigeria than in France (Gini 2.1 points higher)
France: 31.8 (2023) · 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 0.1% in France
France: 0.1% (2023) · Nigeria: 41.8% (2022)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 7.5% in France, versus 3.1% in Nigeria
France: 7.5% (2025) · Nigeria: 3.1% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
France spends 2.0% of its GDP on the military, Nigeria 0.9%
France: 2% (2025) · Nigeria: 0.9% (2025)
How much does the central government collect in tax?
France: 22.8% (2024) · Nigeria: no data
How expensive is it?
France’s price level (US = 100) is 6× Nigeria’s
France: 77% (2025) · Nigeria: 13% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
France spends 80 times as much on health per person as Nigeria
France: $5,327 (2024) · Nigeria: $67 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in France live 28 years longer than in Nigeria
France: 83 years (2024) · Nigeria: 54.6 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Nigeria is 21 times as likely to die before turning one as in France
France: 3.4 per 1,000 (2024) · Nigeria: 69.8 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
France has 8.6 times as many doctors per person as Nigeria
France: 3.3 per 1,000 (2022) · Nigeria: 0.4 per 1,000 (2023)
How many hospital beds are there?
France: 5.7 per 1,000 (2022) · Nigeria: no data
How common is suicide?
The suicide rate in France is 2.1 times that in Nigeria
France: 13.9 per 100k (2023) · Nigeria: 6.5 per 100k (2023)
How common is obesity?
France and Nigeria are practically level
France: 12.5% (2024) · Nigeria: 12.1% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
34% of adults in France smoke, versus 3.1% in Nigeria
France: 33.6% (2024) · Nigeria: 3.1% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in France rate their lives 1.80 points higher than in Nigeria
France: 6.59 (2025) · Nigeria: 4.79 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in France drink 5.5 times as much alcohol as in Nigeria
France: 11.2 litres (2023) · Nigeria: 2 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
France has 11 times as much meat per person as Nigeria
France: 80.3 kg (2023) · Nigeria: 7.1 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
France has 1,019 kcal more food per person per day than Nigeria
France: 3,490 kcal (2023) · Nigeria: 2,470 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in Nigeria put in 575 more hours a year than in France
France: 1,487 hours (2023) · Nigeria: 2,062 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in France went to school 4.2 years longer than in Nigeria
France: 11.8 years (2023) · Nigeria: 7.6 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
France welcomed 583 times as many tourists per resident as Nigeria (2019)
France: 1.35 (2019) · Nigeria: 0.0023 (2024)
How many World Heritage sites?
France has 54 more World Heritage sites than Nigeria (56 against 2)
France: 56 (2026) · Nigeria: 2 (2026)
How many Olympic medals has it won?
France has won 985 Olympic medals, Nigeria 27
France: 985 (2026 edition) · Nigeria: 27 (2026 edition)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
89% of people in France are online, versus 41% in Nigeria
France: 89% (2024) · Nigeria: 41% (2024)
How fast is home internet?
Home internet in France is 11 times as fast as in Nigeria
France: 460 Mbps (2026) · Nigeria: 44 Mbps (2026)
Who has electricity at home?
100% of people in France have electricity, versus 63% in Nigeria
France: 100% (2024) · Nigeria: 62.5% (2024)
How many live in cities?
79% of people in France live in cities, versus 64% in Nigeria
France: 79% (2025) · Nigeria: 64% (2025)
How many phones per person?
France has 117 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Nigeria 71
France: 117 (2023) · Nigeria: 71 (2024)
How much railway is there?
France’s railway network is 7.9 times as long as Nigeria’s
France: 27,716 km (2021) · Nigeria: 3,528 km (2015)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from France fly 42 times as many passengers per resident as those from Nigeria
France: 0.94 (2023) · Nigeria: 0.02 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 33% of France, but only 19% of Nigeria
France: 32.9% (2024) · Nigeria: 18.9% (2024)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in France emits 6.8 times as much CO₂ as someone in Nigeria
France: 4 t (2024) · Nigeria: 0.6 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
31% of Nigeria’s electricity is renewable, versus 26% in France
France: 26.1% (2025) · Nigeria: 31.3% (2025)
How clean is the air?
The air in Nigeria carries 5.6 times as much fine dust as in France
France: 8.9 µg/m³ (2024) · Nigeria: 50 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 12 times as likely to be murdered in Nigeria as in France
France: 1.3 per 100k (2024) · Nigeria: 15.7 per 100k (2023)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Nigeria are 3.3 times as deadly as in France
France: 7.6 per 100k (2023) · Nigeria: 24.7 per 100k (2023)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Nigeria is on average 13.3 °C warmer than France
France: 14.1°C (2016–2025 avg) · Nigeria: 27.4°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
France gets 11% more rain than Nigeria
France: 1,158 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 France bigger than Nigeria?
Nigeria is larger. Nigeria is 52% bigger than France.
Which has more people, France or Nigeria?
Nigeria has 3.5 times as many people as France (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, France or Nigeria?
People in France live 28 years longer than in Nigeria. Life expectancy at birth is 83.0 years in France and 54.6 in Nigeria.
Are people taller in France or Nigeria?
Men in France are 7.0 cm taller than in Nigeria (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
