Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
Switzerland fits inside Nigeria 22 times.
Nigeria: 923,770 km² (2023) · Switzerland: 41,291 km² (2023)
How much coast is there?
Nigeria: 853 km (2026 edition) · Switzerland: 0 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Switzerland’s highest peak towers 2,215 m above Nigeria’s.
Nigeria: 2,419 m (2026 edition) · Switzerland: 4,634 m (2026 edition)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Nigeria has 26 times as many people as Switzerland.
Nigeria: 238 million (2025) · Switzerland: 9.09 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Nigeria is 13% more densely populated than Switzerland.
Nigeria: 261 per km² (2025) · Switzerland: 230 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in Switzerland are 7.2 cm taller than in Nigeria.
Nigeria: 171.6 cm (2019) · Switzerland: 178.7 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in Switzerland are 6.2 cm taller than in Nigeria.
Nigeria: 158.1 cm (2019) · Switzerland: 164.3 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Switzerland is 25 years older than in Nigeria.
Nigeria: 17.8 years (2023) · Switzerland: 42.3 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Nigeria have 3.1 more children on average than in Switzerland.
Nigeria: 4.38 children per woman (2024) · Switzerland: 1.29 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
20% of people in Switzerland are 65 or older, versus 3.1% in Nigeria.
Nigeria: 3.1% (2025) · Switzerland: 20.4% (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Switzerland has produced 20.9 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Nigeria 0.0.
Nigeria: 0 (2025) · Switzerland: 20.9 (2025)
How many official languages?
Switzerland has 4 official languages, Nigeria 1.
Nigeria: 1 (2026) · Switzerland: 4 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Switzerland’s economy is 3.6 times the size of Nigeria’s.
Nigeria: $291 billion (2025) · Switzerland: $1.04 trillion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
Switzerland produces 11 times as much per person as Nigeria.
Nigeria: Int$9,532 (2025) · Switzerland: Int$102,513 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Nigeria and Switzerland are practically level.
Nigeria: 33.9 (2022) · Switzerland: 33.8 (2022)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 4.9% in Switzerland, versus 3.1% in Nigeria.
Nigeria: 3.1% (2025) · Switzerland: 4.9% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Switzerland and Nigeria are practically level.
Nigeria: 0.6% (2024) · Switzerland: 0.7% (2024)
How expensive is it?
Switzerland’s price level (US = 100) is 8.7× Nigeria’s.
Nigeria: 13% (2025) · Switzerland: 112% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Switzerland spends 176 times as much on health per person as Nigeria.
Nigeria: $67 (2023) · Switzerland: $11,784 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in Switzerland live 30 years longer than in Nigeria.
Nigeria: 54.6 years (2024) · Switzerland: 84.4 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 Switzerland.
Nigeria: 69.8 per 1,000 (2024) · Switzerland: 3.4 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
Switzerland has 12 times as many doctors per person as Nigeria.
Nigeria: 0.4 per 1,000 (2023) · Switzerland: 4.5 per 1,000 (2022)
How common is obesity?
13% of adults in Switzerland are obese, versus 12% in Nigeria.
Nigeria: 12.1% (2024) · Switzerland: 12.9% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
23% of adults in Switzerland smoke, versus 3.1% in Nigeria.
Nigeria: 3.1% (2024) · Switzerland: 23.1% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in Switzerland rate their lives 2.23 points higher than in Nigeria.
Nigeria: 4.79 (2025) · Switzerland: 7.02 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in Switzerland drink 4.3 times as much alcohol as in Nigeria.
Nigeria: 2 litres (2023) · Switzerland: 8.8 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
Switzerland has 9 times as much meat per person as Nigeria.
Nigeria: 7.1 kg (2023) · Switzerland: 64 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Switzerland has 932 kcal more food per person per day than Nigeria.
Nigeria: 2,470 kcal (2023) · Switzerland: 3,402 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in Nigeria put in 533 more hours a year than in Switzerland.
Nigeria: 2,062 hours (2023) · Switzerland: 1,529 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in Switzerland went to school 6.4 years longer than in Nigeria.
Nigeria: 7.6 years (2023) · Switzerland: 13.9 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
Switzerland welcomed 451 times as many tourists per resident as Nigeria (2019).
Nigeria: 0 (2024) · Switzerland: 1.04 (2022)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
97% of people in Switzerland are online, versus 41% in Nigeria.
Nigeria: 41% (2024) · Switzerland: 97% (2025)
Who has electricity at home?
100% of people in Switzerland have electricity, versus 63% in Nigeria.
Nigeria: 62.5% (2024) · Switzerland: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
86% of people in Switzerland live in cities, versus 64% in Nigeria.
Nigeria: 64% (2025) · Switzerland: 86% (2025)
How many phones per person?
Switzerland has 129 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Nigeria 71.
Nigeria: 71 (2024) · Switzerland: 129 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Switzerland’s railway network is 17% longer than Nigeria’s.
Nigeria: 3,528 km (2015) · Switzerland: 4,122 km (2021)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from Switzerland fly 137 times as many passengers per resident as those from Nigeria.
Nigeria: 0.02 (2023) · Switzerland: 3.05 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 32% of Switzerland, but only 23% of Nigeria.
Nigeria: 23.2% (2023) · Switzerland: 32.4% (2023)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in Switzerland emits 6.2 times as much CO₂ as someone in Nigeria.
Nigeria: 0.6 t (2024) · Switzerland: 3.6 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
68% of Switzerland’s electricity is renewable, versus 31% in Nigeria.
Nigeria: 31.3% (2025) · Switzerland: 67.8% (2025)
How clean is the air?
The air in Nigeria carries 5.6 times as much fine dust as in Switzerland.
Nigeria: 50 µg/m³ (2024) · Switzerland: 9 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 26 times as likely to be murdered in Nigeria as in Switzerland.
Nigeria: 15.7 per 100k (2023) · Switzerland: 0.6 per 100k (2023)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Nigeria are 7.2 times as deadly as in Switzerland.
Nigeria: 17.2 per 100k (2021) · Switzerland: 2.4 per 100k (2021)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Nigeria is on average 20.9 °C warmer than Switzerland.
Nigeria: 27.4°C (2016–2025 avg) · Switzerland: 6.5°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Switzerland gets 55% more rain than Nigeria.
Nigeria: 1,044 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Switzerland: 1,616 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Quick answers
Is Nigeria bigger than Switzerland?
Nigeria is larger. Switzerland fits inside Nigeria 22 times.
Which has more people, Nigeria or Switzerland?
Nigeria has 26 times as many people as Switzerland (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Nigeria or Switzerland?
People in Switzerland live 30 years longer than in Nigeria. Life expectancy at birth is 54.6 years in Nigeria and 84.4 in Switzerland.
Are people taller in Nigeria or Switzerland?
Men in Switzerland are 7.2 cm taller than in Nigeria (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
