South Africa’s coastline is 3.3 times as long as Nigeria’s

Nigeria: 853 km (2026 edition) · South Africa: 2,798 km (2026 edition)

South Africa’s highest peak towers 1,031 m above Nigeria’s

Nigeria: 2,419 m (2026 edition) · South Africa: 3,450 m (2026 edition)

Farmland covers 79% of South Africa, versus 77% of Nigeria

Nigeria: 77.1% (2024) · South Africa: 79.4% (2024)

Nigeria has 3.7 times as many people as South Africa

Nigeria: 238 million (2025) · South Africa: 64.7 million (2025)

Nigeria is 4.9 times as densely populated as South Africa

Nigeria: 261 per km² (2025) · South Africa: 53 per km² (2025)

The typical person in South Africa is 10 years older than in Nigeria

Nigeria: 17.8 years (2023) · South Africa: 28.2 years (2023)

Women in Nigeria have 2.2 more children on average than in South Africa

Nigeria: 4.38 children per woman (2024) · South Africa: 2.21 children per woman (2024)

6.9% of people in South Africa are 65 or older, versus 3.1% in Nigeria

Nigeria: 3.1% (2025) · South Africa: 6.9% (2025)

South Africa hosts 63% more refugees per resident than Nigeria

Nigeria: 0.5 per 1,000 (2025) · South Africa: 0.9 per 1,000 (2025)

South Africa has produced 1.5 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Nigeria 0.0

Nigeria: 0.042 (2026) · South Africa: 1.5 (2026)

South Africa has 11 official languages, Nigeria 1

Nigeria: 1 (2026) · South Africa: 11 (2026)

South Africa’s economy is 47% larger than Nigeria’s

Nigeria: $291 billion (2025) · South Africa: $427 billion (2025)

South Africa produces 67% more per person than Nigeria

Nigeria: Int$9,532 (2025) · South Africa: Int$15,906 (2025)

Income is more unequally shared in South Africa than in Nigeria (Gini 20.2 points higher)

Nigeria: 33.9 (2022) · South Africa: 54.1 (2022)

42% of people in Nigeria live on less than $3 a day, versus 17% in South Africa

Nigeria: 41.8% (2022) · South Africa: 17.4% (2022)

Unemployment is 32% in South Africa, versus 3.1% in Nigeria

Nigeria: 3.1% (2025) · South Africa: 32.4% (2025)

Nigeria and South Africa are practically level

Nigeria: 0.9% (2025) · South Africa: 0.7% (2025)

Nigeria: no data · South Africa: 25.9% (2024)

South Africa’s price level (US = 100) is 3.2× Nigeria’s

Nigeria: 13% (2025) · South Africa: 41% (2025)

South Africa spends 8 times as much on health per person as Nigeria

Nigeria: $67 (2023) · South Africa: $537 (2023)

A baby in Nigeria is 2.9 times as likely to die before turning one as in South Africa

Nigeria: 69.8 per 1,000 (2024) · South Africa: 24.2 per 1,000 (2024)

South Africa has 2.1 times as many doctors per person as Nigeria

Nigeria: 0.4 per 1,000 (2023) · South Africa: 0.8 per 1,000 (2022)

The suicide rate in South Africa is 2.5 times that in Nigeria

Nigeria: 6.5 per 100k (2023) · South Africa: 16.2 per 100k (2023)

31% of adults in South Africa are obese, versus 12% in Nigeria

Nigeria: 12.1% (2024) · South Africa: 31.3% (2024)

24% of adults in South Africa smoke, versus 3.1% in Nigeria

Nigeria: 3.1% (2024) · South Africa: 23.7% (2024)

People in South Africa rate their lives 0.22 points higher than in Nigeria

Nigeria: 4.79 (2025) · South Africa: 5.01 (2025)

Adults in South Africa drink 4.2 times as much alcohol as in Nigeria

Nigeria: 2 litres (2023) · South Africa: 8.6 litres (2023)

South Africa has 8.2 times as much meat per person as Nigeria

Nigeria: 7.1 kg (2023) · South Africa: 58.3 kg (2023)

South Africa has 224 kcal more food per person per day than Nigeria

Nigeria: 2,470 kcal (2023) · South Africa: 2,694 kcal (2023)

Workers in South Africa put in 120 more hours a year than in Nigeria

Nigeria: 2,062 hours (2023) · South Africa: 2,181 hours (2023)

Adults in South Africa went to school 4 years longer than in Nigeria

Nigeria: 7.6 years (2023) · South Africa: 11.6 years (2023)

South Africa welcomed 60 times as many tourists per resident as Nigeria (2019)

Nigeria: 0.0023 (2024) · South Africa: 0.14 (2024)

South Africa has 10 more World Heritage sites than Nigeria (12 against 2)

Nigeria: 2 (2026) · South Africa: 12 (2026)

South Africa has won 95 Olympic medals, Nigeria 27

Nigeria: 27 (2026 edition) · South Africa: 95 (2026 edition)

78% of people in South Africa are online, versus 41% in Nigeria

Nigeria: 41% (2024) · South Africa: 78% (2024)

Home internet in South Africa is 79% faster than in Nigeria

Nigeria: 44 Mbps (2026) · South Africa: 78 Mbps (2026)

90% of people in South Africa have electricity, versus 63% in Nigeria

Nigeria: 62.5% (2024) · South Africa: 90.2% (2024)

South Africa and Nigeria are practically level

Nigeria: 64% (2025) · South Africa: 64% (2025)

South Africa has 179 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Nigeria 71

Nigeria: 71 (2024) · South Africa: 179 (2024)

South Africa’s railway network is 5.9 times as long as Nigeria’s

Nigeria: 3,528 km (2015) · South Africa: 20,953 km (2021)

Airlines from South Africa fly 11 times as many passengers per resident as those from Nigeria

Nigeria: 0.02 (2023) · South Africa: 0.24 (2023)

Nigeria and South Africa are practically level

Nigeria: 18.9% (2024) · South Africa: 18.8% (2024)

The average person in South Africa emits 12 times as much CO₂ as someone in Nigeria

Nigeria: 0.6 t (2024) · South Africa: 6.9 t (2024)

31% of Nigeria’s electricity is renewable, versus 14% in South Africa

Nigeria: 31.3% (2025) · South Africa: 13.6% (2025)

The air in Nigeria carries 2 times as much fine dust as in South Africa

Nigeria: 50 µg/m³ (2024) · South Africa: 24.4 µg/m³ (2024)

You are 2.8 times as likely to be murdered in South Africa as in Nigeria

Nigeria: 15.7 per 100k (2023) · South Africa: 43.7 per 100k (2022)

Roads in South Africa are 34% deadlier than in Nigeria

Nigeria: 24.7 per 100k (2023) · South Africa: 33.1 per 100k (2023)

Nigeria is on average 9.0 °C warmer than South Africa

Nigeria: 27.4°C (2016–2025 avg) · South Africa: 18.4°C (2016–2025 avg)

Nigeria gets 2 times as much rain as South Africa

Nigeria: 1,044 mm (2016–2025 avg) · South Africa: 511 mm (2016–2025 avg)