Nigeria vs United States of America: Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas
Nigeria
41.56 million people
in 2020
United States of America
88.17 million people
in 2020
Nigeria rank
6th
United States of America rank
3rd
Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas over time
- Nigeria
- United States of America
How they compare
United States of America currently reports 88.17 million people against 41.56 million people in Nigeria, a difference of 46.61 million people.
That makes United States of America's figure about 2.1 times Nigeria's.
Across all 15 years both countries report, United States of America has been ahead every year.
Nigeria ranks 6th and United States of America ranks 3rd of 236 countries.
United States of America has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Nigeria | United States of America | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 13.43 million people | 65.57 million people | 52.14 million people | United States of America |
| 1960s | 15.27 million people | 70.97 million people | 55.69 million people | United States of America |
| 1970s | 17.41 million people | 75.52 million people | 58.11 million people | United States of America |
| 1980s | 21.92 million people | 79.54 million people | 57.61 million people | United States of America |
| 1990s | 26.31 million people | 82.60 million people | 56.29 million people | United States of America |
| 2000s | 30.20 million people | 84.56 million people | 54.36 million people | United States of America |
| 2010s | 35.60 million people | 87.43 million people | 51.83 million people | United States of America |
| 2020s | 41.56 million people | 88.17 million people | 46.61 million people | United States of America |
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 United States of America?
- United States of America, at 88.17 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 Nigeria and United States of America?
- 46.61 million people, with United States of America ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Nigeria and United States of America?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Nigeria and United States of America rank globally for number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas?
- Nigeria ranks 6th and United States of America ranks 3rd 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.