Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
Nigeria fits inside Saudi Arabia 2.3 times
Nigeria: 923,768 km² (2024) · Saudi Arabia: 2,149,690 km² (2024)
How much coast is there?
Saudi Arabia’s coastline is 3.1 times as long as Nigeria’s
Nigeria: 853 km (2026 edition) · Saudi Arabia: 2,640 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Saudi Arabia’s highest peak towers 581 m above Nigeria’s
Nigeria: 2,419 m (2026 edition) · Saudi Arabia: 3,000 m (2026 edition)
How much of the land is farmed?
Farmland covers 82% of Saudi Arabia, versus 77% of Nigeria
Nigeria: 77.1% (2024) · Saudi Arabia: 81.7% (2024)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Nigeria has 6.4 times as many people as Saudi Arabia
Nigeria: 238 million (2025) · Saudi Arabia: 37 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Nigeria is 15 times as densely populated as Saudi Arabia
Nigeria: 261 per km² (2025) · Saudi Arabia: 17 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in Nigeria are 0.9 cm taller than in Saudi Arabia
Nigeria: 171.6 cm (2019) · Saudi Arabia: 170.7 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Saudi Arabia and Nigeria are practically level
Nigeria: 158.1 cm (2019) · Saudi Arabia: 158.8 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Saudi Arabia is 11 years older than in Nigeria
Nigeria: 17.8 years (2023) · Saudi Arabia: 29.2 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Nigeria have 2.1 more children on average than in Saudi Arabia
Nigeria: 4.38 children per woman (2024) · Saudi Arabia: 2.31 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
Nigeria and Saudi Arabia are practically level
Nigeria: 3.1% (2025) · Saudi Arabia: 3.1% (2025)
How many refugees does it host?
Nigeria hosts 43 times as many refugees per resident as Saudi Arabia
Nigeria: 0.5 per 1,000 (2025) · Saudi Arabia: 0.012 per 1,000 (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Nigeria has produced 0.0 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Saudi Arabia none
Nigeria: 0.042 (2026) · Saudi Arabia: 0 (2026)
How many official languages?
Nigeria and Saudi Arabia are practically level
Nigeria: 1 (2026) · Saudi Arabia: 1 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Saudi Arabia’s economy is 4.4 times the size of Nigeria’s
Nigeria: $291 billion (2025) · Saudi Arabia: $1.28 trillion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
Saudi Arabia produces 7.7 times as much per person as Nigeria
Nigeria: Int$9,532 (2025) · Saudi Arabia: Int$73,784 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Nigeria: 33.9 (2022) · Saudi Arabia: no data
How many live on less than $3 a day?
Nigeria: 41.8% (2022) · Saudi Arabia: no data
How many people are looking for work?
Nigeria and Saudi Arabia are practically level
Nigeria: 3.1% (2025) · Saudi Arabia: 3% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Saudi Arabia spends 6.5% of its GDP on the military, Nigeria 0.9%
Nigeria: 0.9% (2025) · Saudi Arabia: 6.5% (2025)
How much does the central government collect in tax?
Nigeria: no data · Saudi Arabia: 8.1% (2024)
How expensive is it?
Saudi Arabia’s price level (US = 100) is 3.6× Nigeria’s
Nigeria: 13% (2025) · Saudi Arabia: 47% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Saudi Arabia spends 27 times as much on health per person as Nigeria
Nigeria: $67 (2023) · Saudi Arabia: $1,825 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in Saudi Arabia live 24 years longer than in Nigeria
Nigeria: 54.6 years (2024) · Saudi Arabia: 79 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Nigeria is 15 times as likely to die before turning one as in Saudi Arabia
Nigeria: 69.8 per 1,000 (2024) · Saudi Arabia: 4.7 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
Saudi Arabia has 9 times as many doctors per person as Nigeria
Nigeria: 0.4 per 1,000 (2023) · Saudi Arabia: 3.4 per 1,000 (2023)
How many hospital beds are there?
Nigeria: no data · Saudi Arabia: 2.4 per 1,000 (2023)
How common is suicide?
The suicide rate in Nigeria is 3 times that in Saudi Arabia
Nigeria: 6.5 per 100k (2023) · Saudi Arabia: 2.2 per 100k (2023)
How common is obesity?
39% of adults in Saudi Arabia are obese, versus 12% in Nigeria
Nigeria: 12.1% (2024) · Saudi Arabia: 39.2% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
15% of adults in Saudi Arabia smoke, versus 3.1% in Nigeria
Nigeria: 3.1% (2024) · Saudi Arabia: 14.7% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in Saudi Arabia rate their lives 2.03 points higher than in Nigeria
Nigeria: 4.79 (2025) · Saudi Arabia: 6.82 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Nigeria: 2 litres (2023) · Saudi Arabia: no data
How much meat is on the menu?
Saudi Arabia has 8.2 times as much meat per person as Nigeria
Nigeria: 7.1 kg (2023) · Saudi Arabia: 58.1 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Saudi Arabia has 1,190 kcal more food per person per day than Nigeria
Nigeria: 2,470 kcal (2023) · Saudi Arabia: 3,660 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in Saudi Arabia put in 63 more hours a year than in Nigeria
Nigeria: 2,062 hours (2023) · Saudi Arabia: 2,125 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in Saudi Arabia went to school 4 years longer than in Nigeria
Nigeria: 7.6 years (2023) · Saudi Arabia: 11.6 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
Saudi Arabia welcomed 364 times as many tourists per resident as Nigeria (2019)
Nigeria: 0.0023 (2024) · Saudi Arabia: 0.84 (2024)
How many World Heritage sites?
Saudi Arabia has 6 more World Heritage sites than Nigeria (8 against 2)
Nigeria: 2 (2026) · Saudi Arabia: 8 (2026)
How many Olympic medals has it won?
Nigeria has won 27 Olympic medals, Saudi Arabia 4
Nigeria: 27 (2026 edition) · Saudi Arabia: 4 (2026 edition)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
100% of people in Saudi Arabia are online, versus 41% in Nigeria
Nigeria: 41% (2024) · Saudi Arabia: 100% (2024)
How fast is home internet?
Home internet in Saudi Arabia is 4.5 times as fast as in Nigeria
Nigeria: 44 Mbps (2026) · Saudi Arabia: 196 Mbps (2026)
Who has electricity at home?
100% of people in Saudi Arabia have electricity, versus 63% in Nigeria
Nigeria: 62.5% (2024) · Saudi Arabia: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
85% of people in Saudi Arabia live in cities, versus 64% in Nigeria
Nigeria: 64% (2025) · Saudi Arabia: 85% (2025)
How many phones per person?
Saudi Arabia has 160 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Nigeria 71
Nigeria: 71 (2024) · Saudi Arabia: 160 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Nigeria’s railway network is 20% longer than Saudi Arabia’s
Nigeria: 3,528 km (2015) · Saudi Arabia: 2,939 km (2018)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from Saudi Arabia fly 58 times as many passengers per resident as those from Nigeria
Nigeria: 0.02 (2023) · Saudi Arabia: 1.3 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 19% of Nigeria, but only 1.3% of Saudi Arabia
Nigeria: 18.9% (2024) · Saudi Arabia: 1.3% (2024)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in Saudi Arabia emits 35 times as much CO₂ as someone in Nigeria
Nigeria: 0.6 t (2024) · Saudi Arabia: 20.4 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
31% of Nigeria’s electricity is renewable, versus 2.2% in Saudi Arabia
Nigeria: 31.3% (2025) · Saudi Arabia: 2.2% (2024)
How clean is the air?
Saudi Arabia and Nigeria are nearly identical here
Nigeria: 50 µg/m³ (2024) · Saudi Arabia: 50.4 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 17 times as likely to be murdered in Nigeria as in Saudi Arabia
Nigeria: 15.7 per 100k (2023) · Saudi Arabia: 0.9 per 100k (2019)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Nigeria are 15% deadlier than in Saudi Arabia
Nigeria: 24.7 per 100k (2023) · Saudi Arabia: 21.4 per 100k (2023)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Nigeria is on average 0.6 °C warmer than Saudi Arabia
Nigeria: 27.4°C (2016–2025 avg) · Saudi Arabia: 26.8°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Nigeria gets 17 times as much rain as Saudi Arabia
Nigeria: 1,044 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Saudi Arabia: 61 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Between them
People, goods and passports that cross from one to the other
Quick answers
Is Nigeria bigger than Saudi Arabia?
Saudi Arabia is larger. Nigeria fits inside Saudi Arabia 2.3 times.
Which has more people, Nigeria or Saudi Arabia?
Nigeria has 6.4 times as many people as Saudi Arabia (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Nigeria or Saudi Arabia?
People in Saudi Arabia live 24 years longer than in Nigeria. Life expectancy at birth is 54.6 years in Nigeria and 79.0 in Saudi Arabia.
Are people taller in Nigeria or Saudi Arabia?
Men in Nigeria are 0.9 cm taller than in Saudi Arabia (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
