Brazil vs Nigeria: Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas
Brazil
43.30 million people
in 2020
Nigeria
41.56 million people
in 2020
Brazil rank
4th
Nigeria rank
6th
Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas over time
- Brazil
- Nigeria
How they compare
Brazil currently reports 43.30 million people against 41.56 million people in Nigeria, a difference of 1.74 million people.
Across all 15 years both countries report, Brazil has been ahead every year.
Brazil ranks 4th and Nigeria ranks 6th of 236 countries.
Brazil has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Brazil | Nigeria | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 25.64 million people | 13.43 million people | 12.21 million people | Brazil |
| 1960s | 29.51 million people | 15.27 million people | 14.24 million people | Brazil |
| 1970s | 32.74 million people | 17.41 million people | 15.33 million people | Brazil |
| 1980s | 35.44 million people | 21.92 million people | 13.51 million people | Brazil |
| 1990s | 38.71 million people | 26.31 million people | 12.40 million people | Brazil |
| 2000s | 40.95 million people | 30.20 million people | 10.74 million people | Brazil |
| 2010s | 42.29 million people | 35.60 million people | 6.69 million people | Brazil |
| 2020s | 43.30 million people | 41.56 million people | 1.74 million people | Brazil |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas, Brazil or Nigeria?
- Brazil, at 43.30 million people against 41.56 million people in Nigeria as of 2020.
- What is the difference in number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas between Brazil and Nigeria?
- 1.74 million people, with Brazil ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Brazil and Nigeria?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Brazil and Nigeria rank globally for number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas?
- Brazil ranks 4th and Nigeria ranks 6th of 236 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Estimated number of people living in rural areas. Rural areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.