Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
Nigeria is 75% bigger than Sweden.
Nigeria: 923,770 km² (2023) · Sweden: 528,660 km² (2023)
How much coast is there?
Sweden’s coastline is 3.8 times as long as Nigeria’s.
Nigeria: 853 km (2026 edition) · Sweden: 3,218 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Nigeria’s highest peak towers 319 m above Sweden’s.
Nigeria: 2,419 m (2026 edition) · Sweden: 2,100 m (2026 edition)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Nigeria has 22 times as many people as Sweden.
Nigeria: 238 million (2025) · Sweden: 10.6 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Nigeria is 10 times as densely populated as Sweden.
Nigeria: 261 per km² (2025) · Sweden: 26 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in Sweden are 8.9 cm taller than in Nigeria.
Nigeria: 171.6 cm (2019) · Sweden: 180.5 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in Sweden are 8.5 cm taller than in Nigeria.
Nigeria: 158.1 cm (2019) · Sweden: 166.7 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Sweden is 22 years older than in Nigeria.
Nigeria: 17.8 years (2023) · Sweden: 39.9 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Nigeria have 3.0 more children on average than in Sweden.
Nigeria: 4.38 children per woman (2024) · Sweden: 1.43 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
21% of people in Sweden are 65 or older, versus 3.1% in Nigeria.
Nigeria: 3.1% (2025) · Sweden: 20.9% (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Sweden has produced 28.3 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Nigeria 0.0.
Nigeria: 0 (2025) · Sweden: 28.3 (2025)
How many official languages?
Nigeria and Sweden are practically level.
Nigeria: 1 (2026) · Sweden: 1 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Sweden’s economy is 2.3 times the size of Nigeria’s.
Nigeria: $291 billion (2025) · Sweden: $669 billion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
Sweden produces 7.6 times as much per person as Nigeria.
Nigeria: Int$9,532 (2025) · Sweden: Int$72,529 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Nigeria than in Sweden (Gini 4.6 points higher).
Nigeria: 33.9 (2022) · Sweden: 29.3 (2023)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 8.7% in Sweden, versus 3.1% in Nigeria.
Nigeria: 3.1% (2025) · Sweden: 8.7% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Sweden spends 2.0% of its GDP on the military, Nigeria 0.6%.
Nigeria: 0.6% (2024) · Sweden: 2% (2024)
How expensive is it?
Sweden’s price level (US = 100) is 6.8× Nigeria’s.
Nigeria: 13% (2025) · Sweden: 87% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Sweden spends 97 times as much on health per person as Nigeria.
Nigeria: $67 (2023) · Sweden: $6,485 (2024)
How long do people live?
People in Sweden live 29 years longer than in Nigeria.
Nigeria: 54.6 years (2024) · Sweden: 84.1 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Nigeria is 35 times as likely to die before turning one as in Sweden.
Nigeria: 69.8 per 1,000 (2024) · Sweden: 2 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
Sweden has 12 times as many doctors per person as Nigeria.
Nigeria: 0.4 per 1,000 (2023) · Sweden: 4.4 per 1,000 (2021)
How common is obesity?
19% of adults in Sweden are obese, versus 12% in Nigeria.
Nigeria: 12.1% (2024) · Sweden: 18.7% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
20% of adults in Sweden smoke, versus 3.1% in Nigeria.
Nigeria: 3.1% (2024) · Sweden: 20.3% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in Sweden rate their lives 2.47 points higher than in Nigeria.
Nigeria: 4.79 (2025) · Sweden: 7.26 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in Sweden drink 4.3 times as much alcohol as in Nigeria.
Nigeria: 2 litres (2023) · Sweden: 8.7 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
Sweden has 9.6 times as much meat per person as Nigeria.
Nigeria: 7.1 kg (2023) · Sweden: 68.4 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Sweden has 897 kcal more food per person per day than Nigeria.
Nigeria: 2,470 kcal (2023) · Sweden: 3,367 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in Nigeria put in 630 more hours a year than in Sweden.
Nigeria: 2,062 hours (2023) · Sweden: 1,432 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in Sweden went to school 5.2 years longer than in Nigeria.
Nigeria: 7.6 years (2023) · Sweden: 12.7 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
Sweden welcomed 273 times as many tourists per resident as Nigeria (2019).
Nigeria: 0 (2024) · Sweden: 0.63 (2022)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
96% of people in Sweden are online, versus 41% in Nigeria.
Nigeria: 41% (2024) · Sweden: 96% (2025)
Who has electricity at home?
100% of people in Sweden have electricity, versus 63% in Nigeria.
Nigeria: 62.5% (2024) · Sweden: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
89% of people in Sweden live in cities, versus 64% in Nigeria.
Nigeria: 64% (2025) · Sweden: 89% (2025)
How many phones per person?
Sweden has 141 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Nigeria 71.
Nigeria: 71 (2024) · Sweden: 141 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Sweden’s railway network is 2.8 times as long as Nigeria’s.
Nigeria: 3,528 km (2015) · Sweden: 9,714 km (2021)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from Sweden fly 83 times as many passengers per resident as those from Nigeria.
Nigeria: 0.02 (2023) · Sweden: 1.85 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 69% of Sweden, but only 23% of Nigeria.
Nigeria: 23.2% (2023) · Sweden: 68.7% (2023)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in Sweden emits 6.2 times as much CO₂ as someone in Nigeria.
Nigeria: 0.6 t (2024) · Sweden: 3.6 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
71% of Sweden’s electricity is renewable, versus 31% in Nigeria.
Nigeria: 31.3% (2025) · Sweden: 71.2% (2025)
How clean is the air?
The air in Nigeria carries 8.8 times as much fine dust as in Sweden.
Nigeria: 50 µg/m³ (2024) · Sweden: 5.7 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 14 times as likely to be murdered in Nigeria as in Sweden.
Nigeria: 15.7 per 100k (2023) · Sweden: 1.1 per 100k (2023)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Nigeria are 8.2 times as deadly as in Sweden.
Nigeria: 17.2 per 100k (2021) · Sweden: 2.1 per 100k (2021)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Nigeria is on average 23.1 °C warmer than Sweden.
Nigeria: 27.4°C (2016–2025 avg) · Sweden: 4.3°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Nigeria gets 30% more rain than Sweden.
Nigeria: 1,044 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Sweden: 801 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Quick answers
Is Nigeria bigger than Sweden?
Nigeria is larger. Nigeria is 75% bigger than Sweden.
Which has more people, Nigeria or Sweden?
Nigeria has 22 times as many people as Sweden (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Nigeria or Sweden?
People in Sweden live 29 years longer than in Nigeria. Life expectancy at birth is 54.6 years in Nigeria and 84.1 in Sweden.
Are people taller in Nigeria or Sweden?
Men in Sweden are 8.9 cm taller than in Nigeria (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
