Niger vs South Africa: Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas
Niger
12.00 million people
in 2020
South Africa
12.95 million people
in 2020
Niger rank
28th
South Africa rank
25th
Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas over time
- Niger
- South Africa
How they compare
South Africa currently reports 12.95 million people against 12.00 million people in Niger, a difference of 946,900 people.
That makes South Africa's figure about 1.1 times Niger's.
Across all 15 years both countries report, South Africa has been ahead every year.
Niger ranks 28th and South Africa ranks 25th of 236 countries.
South Africa has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Niger | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 2.02 million people | 6.95 million people | 4.94 million people | South Africa |
| 1960s | 2.55 million people | 8.12 million people | 5.56 million people | South Africa |
| 1970s | 3.17 million people | 9.50 million people | 6.33 million people | South Africa |
| 1980s | 3.97 million people | 11.18 million people | 7.21 million people | South Africa |
| 1990s | 4.88 million people | 12.74 million people | 7.86 million people | South Africa |
| 2000s | 6.28 million people | 12.76 million people | 6.48 million people | South Africa |
| 2010s | 8.93 million people | 12.84 million people | 3.91 million people | South Africa |
| 2020s | 12.00 million people | 12.95 million people | 946,900 people | South Africa |
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, Niger or South Africa?
- South Africa, at 12.95 million people against 12.00 million people in Niger as of 2020.
- What is the difference in number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas between Niger and South Africa?
- 946,900 people, with South Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Niger and South Africa?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Niger and South Africa rank globally for number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas?
- Niger ranks 28th and South Africa ranks 25th 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.