Mali vs Niger: Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas
Mali
11.49 million people
in 2020
Niger
12.00 million people
in 2020
Mali rank
31st
Niger rank
28th
Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas over time
- Mali
- Niger
How they compare
Niger currently reports 12.00 million people against 11.49 million people in Mali, a difference of 507,200 people.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Mali ahead.
Mali ranks 31st and Niger ranks 28th of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Mali averaged higher in 7 and Niger in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Mali | Niger | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 3.45 million people | 2.02 million people | 1.43 million people | Mali |
| 1960s | 3.93 million people | 2.55 million people | 1.38 million people | Mali |
| 1970s | 4.51 million people | 3.17 million people | 1.34 million people | Mali |
| 1980s | 5.43 million people | 3.97 million people | 1.46 million people | Mali |
| 1990s | 6.43 million people | 4.88 million people | 1.55 million people | Mali |
| 2000s | 7.69 million people | 6.28 million people | 1.41 million people | Mali |
| 2010s | 9.70 million people | 8.93 million people | 772,645 people | Mali |
| 2020s | 11.49 million people | 12.00 million people | 507,200 people | Niger |
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, Mali or Niger?
- Niger, at 12.00 million people against 11.49 million people in Mali as of 2020.
- What is the difference in number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas between Mali and Niger?
- 507,200 people, with Niger ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Mali and Niger?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Mali and Niger rank globally for number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas?
- Mali ranks 31st and Niger ranks 28th 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.