Nigeria vs United States
United States is 10.6 times larger than Nigeria. Nigeria would fit into United States about 11 times.
NigeriaUnited StatesNigeria moved onto United States · Equal-area projection
Remote islands and overseas parts not drawn; the figures include them
0.09×
Nigeria is 0.09× the area of United States. Put the other way, United States is 10.6× the size of Nigeria.
 Nigeria |  United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaUnited States: 10.6× the area | 923,768 km²#31 of 194 | 9,826,675 km²#3 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 4 | 2 |
| People | ||
| PopulationUnited States: 1.44× the population | 237,527,782#6 of 194 · 2025 | 341,784,857#3 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityNigeria: 7.39× the density | 257 / km²#38 of 194 | 35 / km²#145 of 194 |
| Urban populationUnited States: 1.26× the urban share | 64%#93 of 192 · 2025 | 80%#41 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateNigeria: 2.69× the births per woman | 4.38 per woman#15 of 192 · 2024 | 1.63 per woman#121 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthNigeria: 1.54 points higher | +2.06%#44 of 192 · 2025 | +0.52%#125 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateNigeria: 3.07× the birth rate | 32.5 per 1,000#20 of 192 · 2024 | 10.6 per 1,000#132 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateNigeria: 1.29× the death rate | 11.6 per 1,000#20 of 192 · 2024 | 9.0 per 1,000#52 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Nigeria: 23.4 points higher | 40.5%#19 of 192 · 2025 | 17.1%#140 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65United States: 15.3 points higher | 3.1%#166 of 192 · 2025 | 18.4%#38 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationUnited States: 3.7 per 1,000 higher | −0.1 per 1,000#78 of 192 · 2025 | +3.6 per 1,000#26 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadNigeria: 201× the refugees for its size | 2.01 per 1,000#43 of 190 · 2025 | 0.01 per 1,000#155 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyUnited States: 24.3 years longer | 54.6 years#192 of 192 · 2024 | 78.9 years#46 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityNigeria: 12.7× the infant mortality | 69.8 per 1,000 births#2 of 191 · 2024 | 5.5 per 1,000 births#139 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsUnited States: 9.68× the doctors per person | 0.38 per 1,000#133 of 178 · 2023 | 3.68 per 1,000#39 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolment | — | 79.4%#27 of 145 · 2022 |
| Human Development IndexUnited States: 0.378 higher | 0.560#161 of 190 · 2023 | 0.938#16 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaUnited States: 65.3× the income per person | $1,360#159 of 185 · 2025 | $88,810#5 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPUnited States: 106× the economy | $290.79B2025 | $30.77T2025 |
| Income group | Lower-middle income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)United States: 9.44× the output per person | $9,532#128 of 184 · 2025 | $90,027#9 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthNigeria: 1.8 points higher | +4.0%#69 of 187 · 2025 | +2.2%#126 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationNigeria: 20.1 points higher | +23.0%#10 of 176 · 2025 | +2.9%#92 of 176 · 2024 |
| UnemploymentUnited States: 1.35× the unemployment | 3.1%#137 of 178 · 2025 | 4.2%#110 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyNigeria: 38.0× the share in extreme poverty | 41.8%#17 of 149 · 2022 | 1.1%#82 of 149 · 2024 |
| Income inequality (Gini)United States: 7.9 higher | 33.9#80 of 149 · 2022 | 41.8#30 of 149 · 2024 |
| Jobs in agricultureNigeria: 32.0 points higher | 33.5% of jobs#52 of 178 · 2025 | 1.5% of jobs#164 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryUnited States: 1.9 points higher | 17.0% of jobs#113 of 178 · 2025 | 18.9% of jobs#90 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesUnited States: 30.1 points higher | 49.5% of jobs#122 of 178 · 2025 | 79.6% of jobs#16 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentNigeria: 0.4 points higher | 1.4% of GDP#112 of 184 · 2025 | 1.0% of GDP#126 of 184 · 2025 |
| Exports | — | 11.0% of GDP#159 of 168 · 2024 |
| Military spendingUnited States: 3.43× the military spending | 0.9% of GDP#119 of 155 · 2025 | 3.1% of GDP#27 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersUnited States: 2.3× the share online | 41%#153 of 184 · 2024 | 95%#27 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsUnited States: 1.59× the mobile subscriptions | 71 per 100#157 of 191 · 2024 | 113 per 100#102 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaUnited States: 1.79× the forest share | 19% of land#122 of 192 · 2024 | 34% of land#92 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personUnited States: 23.9× the CO₂ per person | 0.57 t a year#146 of 185 · 2024 | 13.6 t a year#13 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyNigeria: 69.4 points higher | 80.3%#16 of 190 · 2021 | 10.9%#139 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityUnited States: 37.5 points higher | 62.5%#160 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Nigeria: 9.39× the air pollution | 65.7 µg/m³#4 of 191 · 2023 | 7.0 µg/m³#173 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landNigeria: 1.0 points higher | 13.9% of land#124 of 191 · 2025 | 12.9% of land#131 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landNigeria: 24.2 points higher | 40.8% of land#13 of 190 · 2024 | 16.6% of land#64 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressUnited States: 2.91× the water stress | 9.7%#92 of 176 · 2022 | 28.2%#57 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationNigeria: 1.61× the rain and snow | 1,150 mm#80 of 180 · 2022 | 715 mm#111 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityUnited States: 1.44 higher | −1.74#179 of 193 · 2025 | −0.30#122 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionUnited States: 1.94 higher | −1.07#158 of 193 · 2025 | +0.87#39 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateNigeria: 2.71× the homicide rate | 15.7 per 100,000#20 of 146 · 2023 | 5.8 per 100,000#46 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Presidential republicfederal presidential republic | Presidential republicconstitutional federal republic |
| Member of | OPEC | NATO, OECD, G7, G20 |
| Capital | Abuja | Washington D.C. |
| Currency | Nigerian naira (NGN) | United States dollar (USD) |
| Official languages | English | English |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+1 | UTC−5, summer time UTC−4 · UTC−10 to UTC−5, 6 time zones |
| Calling code | +234 | +1 |
| Region | Western Africa, Africa | Northern America, North America |
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. Nigeria sits at about 10° N and is stretched to 1.03× its true area; United States at 45° N is stretched to 1.98×. That difference is why United States looks so much bigger than it is next to Nigeria. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Nigeria bigger than United States?
- No. Nigeria is 10.6 times smaller than United States. Nigeria covers 923,768 km² and United States covers 9,826,675 km².
- How many times does Nigeria fit into United States?
- About 11 times: United States has 10.6× the area of Nigeria.
- Why do Nigeria and United States look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Nigeria is drawn about 1.03× its true area there and United States about 1.98×. That is why United States looks so much bigger than it really is next to Nigeria. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Nigeria or United States?
- United States: 341,784,857 people against 237,527,782. Density: Nigeria 257 per km², United States 35 per km².
- Which is richer, Nigeria or United States?
- By gross national income per person, United States: $88,810 against $1,360 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 65.3× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Nigeria or United States?
- In United States: life expectancy at birth is 78.9 years, against 54.6 — 24.3 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Nigeria and United States have?
- The same form of government, by constitution: presidential republic (CIA World Factbook).