Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
New Zealand fits inside Nigeria 3.5 times.
New Zealand: 267,710 km² (2023) · Nigeria: 923,770 km² (2023)
How much coast is there?
New Zealand’s coastline is 18 times as long as Nigeria’s.
New Zealand: 15,134 km (2026 edition) · Nigeria: 853 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Nigeria’s highest peak towers 2,389 m above New Zealand’s.
New Zealand: 30 m (2026 edition) · Nigeria: 2,419 m (2026 edition)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Nigeria has 45 times as many people as New Zealand.
New Zealand: 5.32 million (2025) · Nigeria: 238 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Nigeria is 13 times as densely populated as New Zealand.
New Zealand: 20 per km² (2025) · Nigeria: 261 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in New Zealand are 6.2 cm taller than in Nigeria.
New Zealand: 177.7 cm (2019) · Nigeria: 171.6 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in New Zealand are 6.5 cm taller than in Nigeria.
New Zealand: 164.7 cm (2019) · Nigeria: 158.1 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in New Zealand is 20 years older than in Nigeria.
New Zealand: 37.3 years (2023) · Nigeria: 17.8 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Nigeria have 2.8 more children on average than in New Zealand.
New Zealand: 1.57 children per woman (2024) · Nigeria: 4.38 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
18% of people in New Zealand are 65 or older, versus 3.1% in Nigeria.
New Zealand: 17.6% (2025) · Nigeria: 3.1% (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
New Zealand has produced 5.6 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Nigeria 0.0.
New Zealand: 5.6 (2025) · Nigeria: 0 (2025)
How many official languages?
New Zealand has 3 official languages, Nigeria 1.
New Zealand: 3 (2026) · Nigeria: 1 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Nigeria’s economy is 10% larger than New Zealand’s.
New Zealand: $264 billion (2025) · Nigeria: $291 billion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
New Zealand produces 6 times as much per person as Nigeria.
New Zealand: Int$57,350 (2025) · Nigeria: Int$9,532 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
New Zealand: no data · Nigeria: 33.9 (2022)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 5.1% in New Zealand, versus 3.1% in Nigeria.
New Zealand: 5.1% (2025) · Nigeria: 3.1% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
New Zealand spends 1.2% of its GDP on the military, Nigeria 0.6%.
New Zealand: 1.2% (2024) · Nigeria: 0.6% (2024)
How expensive is it?
New Zealand’s price level (US = 100) is 6.7× Nigeria’s.
New Zealand: 86% (2025) · Nigeria: 13% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
New Zealand spends 75 times as much on health per person as Nigeria.
New Zealand: $5,022 (2024) · Nigeria: $67 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in New Zealand live 27 years longer than in Nigeria.
New Zealand: 82 years (2024) · Nigeria: 54.6 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Nigeria is 17 times as likely to die before turning one as in New Zealand.
New Zealand: 4 per 1,000 (2024) · Nigeria: 69.8 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
New Zealand has 9.5 times as many doctors per person as Nigeria.
New Zealand: 3.6 per 1,000 (2022) · Nigeria: 0.4 per 1,000 (2023)
How common is obesity?
35% of adults in New Zealand are obese, versus 12% in Nigeria.
New Zealand: 34.7% (2024) · Nigeria: 12.1% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
9.3% of adults in New Zealand smoke, versus 3.1% in Nigeria.
New Zealand: 9.3% (2024) · Nigeria: 3.1% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in New Zealand rate their lives 2.21 points higher than in Nigeria.
New Zealand: 7.00 (2025) · Nigeria: 4.79 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in New Zealand drink 4.3 times as much alcohol as in Nigeria.
New Zealand: 8.9 litres (2023) · Nigeria: 2 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
New Zealand has 11 times as much meat per person as Nigeria.
New Zealand: 79.5 kg (2023) · Nigeria: 7.1 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
New Zealand has 651 kcal more food per person per day than Nigeria.
New Zealand: 3,122 kcal (2023) · Nigeria: 2,470 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in Nigeria put in 354 more hours a year than in New Zealand.
New Zealand: 1,708 hours (2023) · Nigeria: 2,062 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in New Zealand went to school 5.3 years longer than in Nigeria.
New Zealand: 12.9 years (2023) · Nigeria: 7.6 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
New Zealand welcomed 259 times as many tourists per resident as Nigeria (2019).
New Zealand: 0.6 (2024) · Nigeria: 0 (2024)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
94% of people in New Zealand are online, versus 41% in Nigeria.
New Zealand: 94% (2024) · Nigeria: 41% (2024)
Who has electricity at home?
100% of people in New Zealand have electricity, versus 63% in Nigeria.
New Zealand: 100% (2024) · Nigeria: 62.5% (2024)
How many live in cities?
84% of people in New Zealand live in cities, versus 64% in Nigeria.
New Zealand: 84% (2025) · Nigeria: 64% (2025)
How many phones per person?
New Zealand has 130 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Nigeria 71.
New Zealand: 130 (2024) · Nigeria: 71 (2024)
How much railway is there?
New Zealand’s railway network is 17% longer than Nigeria’s.
New Zealand: 4,128 km (2018) · Nigeria: 3,528 km (2015)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from New Zealand fly 127 times as many passengers per resident as those from Nigeria.
New Zealand: 2.82 (2023) · Nigeria: 0.02 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 38% of New Zealand, but only 23% of Nigeria.
New Zealand: 37.8% (2023) · Nigeria: 23.2% (2023)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in New Zealand emits 11 times as much CO₂ as someone in Nigeria.
New Zealand: 6.2 t (2024) · Nigeria: 0.6 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
89% of New Zealand’s electricity is renewable, versus 31% in Nigeria.
New Zealand: 88.5% (2025) · Nigeria: 31.3% (2025)
How clean is the air?
The air in Nigeria carries 7.1 times as much fine dust as in New Zealand.
New Zealand: 7 µg/m³ (2024) · Nigeria: 50 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 11 times as likely to be murdered in Nigeria as in New Zealand.
New Zealand: 1.5 per 100k (2022) · Nigeria: 15.7 per 100k (2023)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Nigeria are 2.6 times as deadly as in New Zealand.
New Zealand: 6.6 per 100k (2021) · Nigeria: 17.2 per 100k (2021)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Nigeria is on average 16.3 °C warmer than New Zealand.
New Zealand: 11.1°C (2016–2025 avg) · Nigeria: 27.4°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
New Zealand gets 53% more rain than Nigeria.
New Zealand: 1,596 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Nigeria: 1,044 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Quick answers
Is New Zealand bigger than Nigeria?
Nigeria is larger. New Zealand fits inside Nigeria 3.5 times.
Which has more people, New Zealand or Nigeria?
Nigeria has 45 times as many people as New Zealand (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, New Zealand or Nigeria?
People in New Zealand live 27 years longer than in Nigeria. Life expectancy at birth is 82.0 years in New Zealand and 54.6 in Nigeria.
Are people taller in New Zealand or Nigeria?
Men in New Zealand are 6.2 cm taller than in Nigeria (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
