Nigeria vs Russian Federation: Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas

Nigeria
41.56 million people
in 2020
Russian Federation
31.00 million people
in 2020
Nigeria rank
6th
Russian Federation rank
8th

Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas over time

  • Nigeria
  • Russian Federation
10.0M20.0M30.0M40.0M195019852020

How they compare

Nigeria currently reports 41.56 million people against 31.00 million people in Russian Federation, a difference of 10.56 million people.

That makes Nigeria's figure about 1.3 times Russian Federation's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Russian Federation ahead.

Nigeria ranks 6th and Russian Federation ranks 8th of 236 countries.

Across the 8 decades both report, Nigeria averaged higher in 2 and Russian Federation in 6.

Head to head by decade

Decade Nigeria Russian Federation Difference Ahead
1950s 13.43 million people 29.83 million people 16.39 million people Russian Federation
1960s 15.27 million people 30.42 million people 15.14 million people Russian Federation
1970s 17.41 million people 30.77 million people 13.36 million people Russian Federation
1980s 21.92 million people 31.21 million people 9.29 million people Russian Federation
1990s 26.31 million people 32.39 million people 6.08 million people Russian Federation
2000s 30.20 million people 31.29 million people 1.09 million people Russian Federation
2010s 35.60 million people 31.04 million people 4.56 million people Nigeria
2020s 41.56 million people 31.00 million people 10.56 million people Nigeria

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, Nigeria or Russian Federation?
Nigeria, at 41.56 million people against 31.00 million people in Russian Federation as of 2020.
What is the difference in number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas between Nigeria and Russian Federation?
10.56 million people, with Nigeria ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Nigeria and Russian Federation?
15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
How do Nigeria and Russian Federation rank globally for number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas?
Nigeria ranks 6th and Russian Federation ranks 8th 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.

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Nigeria vs Russian Federation: Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas. Statizoid, drawing on European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 11 September 2026, from https://population.statizoid.com/compare/population-of-cities-towns-and-villages/nigeria/russian-federation/

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<a href="https://population.statizoid.com/compare/population-of-cities-towns-and-villages/nigeria/russian-federation/">Nigeria vs Russian Federation: Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas
Unit
people
Source
European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
236 places, 3,540 data points, 1950–2020
Last refreshed

Estimated number of people living in rural areas. Rural areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.