Namibia vs Nigeria
Nigeria is 12% larger than Namibia.
NamibiaNigeriaNamibia moved onto Nigeria · Equal-area projection
0.89×
Namibia is 0.89× the area of Nigeria. Put the other way, Nigeria is 1.12× the size of Namibia.
 Namibia |  Nigeria | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaNigeria: 1.12× the area | 825,615 km²#34 of 194 | 923,768 km²#31 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 4 | 4 |
| People | ||
| PopulationNigeria: 76.8× the population | 3,092,816#134 of 194 · 2025 | 237,527,782#6 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityNigeria: 68.6× the density | 3.7 / km²#192 of 194 | 257 / km²#38 of 194 |
| Urban populationNigeria: 1.25× the urban share | 51%#131 of 192 · 2025 | 64%#93 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateNigeria: 1.36× the births per woman | 3.21 per woman#49 of 192 · 2024 | 4.38 per woman#15 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthNigeria: 0.01 points higher | +2.05%#45 of 192 · 2025 | +2.06%#44 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateNigeria: 1.25× the birth rate | 25.9 per 1,000#45 of 192 · 2024 | 32.5 per 1,000#20 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateNigeria: 1.87× the death rate | 6.2 per 1,000#129 of 192 · 2024 | 11.6 per 1,000#20 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Nigeria: 3.8 points higher | 36.7%#43 of 192 · 2025 | 40.5%#19 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Namibia: 0.7 points higher | 3.8%#146 of 192 · 2025 | 3.1%#166 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationNamibia: 0.7 per 1,000 higher | +0.6 per 1,000#55 of 192 · 2025 | −0.1 per 1,000#78 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadNigeria: 9.14× the refugees for its size | 0.22 per 1,000#99 of 190 · 2025 | 2.01 per 1,000#43 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyNamibia: 12.9 years longer | 67.5 years#148 of 192 · 2024 | 54.6 years#192 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityNigeria: 1.92× the infant mortality | 36.4 per 1,000 births#30 of 191 · 2024 | 69.8 per 1,000 births#2 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsNamibia: 1.45× the doctors per person | 0.55 per 1,000#124 of 178 · 2022 | 0.38 per 1,000#133 of 178 · 2023 |
| University enrolment | 26.1%#105 of 145 · 2022 | — |
| Human Development IndexNamibia: 0.105 higher | 0.665#133 of 190 · 2023 | 0.560#161 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaNamibia: 3.19× the income per person | $4,340#122 of 185 · 2025 | $1,360#159 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPNigeria: 19.3× the economy | $15.08B2025 | $290.79B2025 |
| Income group | Lower-middle income | Lower-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Namibia: 1.26× the output per person | $11,986#121 of 184 · 2025 | $9,532#128 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthNigeria: 2.3 points higher | +1.7%#141 of 187 · 2025 | +4.0%#69 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationNigeria: 19.5 points higher | +3.5%#75 of 176 · 2025 | +23.0%#10 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentNamibia: 6.23× the unemployment | 19.3%#7 of 178 · 2025 | 3.1%#137 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyNigeria: 1.83× the share in extreme poverty | 22.9%#32 of 149 · 2015 | 41.8%#17 of 149 · 2022 |
| Income inequality (Gini)Namibia: 25.2 higher | 59.1#1 of 149 · 2015 | 33.9#80 of 149 · 2022 |
| Jobs in agricultureNigeria: 11.2 points higher | 22.3% of jobs#79 of 178 · 2025 | 33.5% of jobs#52 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryNigeria: 0.5 points higher | 16.5% of jobs#124 of 178 · 2025 | 17.0% of jobs#113 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesNamibia: 11.6 points higher | 61.1% of jobs#80 of 178 · 2025 | 49.5% of jobs#122 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentNamibia: 8.2 points higher | 9.6% of GDP#19 of 184 · 2025 | 1.4% of GDP#112 of 184 · 2025 |
| Exports | 44.7% of GDP#56 of 168 · 2025 | — |
| Military spendingNamibia: 3.04× the military spending | 2.8% of GDP#35 of 155 · 2025 | 0.9% of GDP#119 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersNamibia: 1.58× the share online | 65%#130 of 184 · 2024 | 41%#153 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsNamibia: 1.2× the mobile subscriptions | 85 per 100#146 of 191 · 2024 | 71 per 100#157 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaNigeria: 1.93× the forest share | 10% of land#155 of 192 · 2024 | 19% of land#122 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personNamibia: 2.11× the CO₂ per person | 1.20 t a year#123 of 185 · 2024 | 0.57 t a year#146 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyNigeria: 50.3 points higher | 30.0%#80 of 190 · 2021 | 80.3%#16 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityNigeria: 3.2 points higher | 59.3%#165 of 192 · 2024 | 62.5%#160 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Nigeria: 4.63× the air pollution | 14.2 µg/m³#123 of 191 · 2023 | 65.7 µg/m³#4 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landNamibia: 26.0 points higher | 39.9% of land#9 of 191 · 2025 | 13.9% of land#124 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landNigeria: 39.8 points higher | 1.0% of land#171 of 190 · 2024 | 40.8% of land#13 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressNigeria: 32.3× the water stress | 0.3%#168 of 176 · 2022 | 9.7%#92 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationNigeria: 4.04× the rain and snow | 285 mm#154 of 180 · 2022 | 1,150 mm#80 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityNamibia: 2.48 higher | +0.74#55 of 193 · 2025 | −1.74#179 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionNamibia: 1.22 higher | +0.15#73 of 193 · 2025 | −1.07#158 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateNigeria: 1.4× the homicide rate | 11.2 per 100,000#27 of 146 · 2021 | 15.7 per 100,000#20 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Presidential republic | Presidential republicfederal presidential republic |
| Member of | — | OPEC |
| Capital | Windhoek | Abuja |
| Currency | South African rand (ZAR), Namibian dollar (NAD) | Nigerian naira (NGN) |
| Official languages | English | English |
| Traffic drives | On the left | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+2 | UTC+1 |
| Calling code | +264 | +234 |
| Region | Southern Africa, Africa | Western Africa, Africa |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Namibia sits at about 22° S and is stretched to 1.16× its true area; Nigeria at 10° N is stretched to 1.03×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Namibia bigger than Nigeria?
- No. Namibia is 11% smaller than Nigeria. Namibia covers 825,615 km² and Nigeria covers 923,768 km².
- How many times does Namibia fit into Nigeria?
- About 1.1 times: Nigeria has 1.12× the area of Namibia.
- Why do Namibia and Nigeria look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Namibia is drawn about 1.16× its true area there and Nigeria about 1.03×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Namibia or Nigeria?
- Nigeria: 237,527,782 people against 3,092,816. Density: Namibia 3.7 per km², Nigeria 257 per km².
- Which is richer, Namibia or Nigeria?
- By gross national income per person, Namibia: $4,340 against $1,360 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 3.19× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Namibia or Nigeria?
- In Namibia: life expectancy at birth is 67.5 years, against 54.6 — 12.9 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Namibia and Nigeria have?
- The same form of government, by constitution: presidential republic (CIA World Factbook).