Nigeria vs United States: Share of children, working-age adults, and older people

Nigeria
94.55 million people
in 2023
United States
60.43 million people
in 2023
Nigeria rank
3rd
United States rank
6th

Share of children, working-age adults, and older people over time

  • Nigeria
  • United States
20.0M40.0M60.0M80.0M100.0M195019862023

How they compare

Nigeria currently reports 94.55 million people against 60.43 million people in United States, a difference of 34.12 million people.

That makes Nigeria's figure about 1.6 times United States's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 74 shared years of data; in 1950 it was United States ahead.

Nigeria ranks 3rd and United States ranks 6th of 236 countries.

Across the 8 decades both report, Nigeria averaged higher in 3 and United States in 5.

Head to head by decade

Decade Nigeria United States Difference Ahead
1950s 16.80 million people 48.44 million people 31.63 million people United States
1960s 20.63 million people 59.12 million people 38.49 million people United States
1970s 27.34 million people 55.66 million people 28.32 million people United States
1980s 38.02 million people 52.15 million people 14.13 million people United States
1990s 48.79 million people 57.71 million people 8.92 million people United States
2000s 63.15 million people 60.21 million people 2.94 million people Nigeria
2010s 83.01 million people 62.33 million people 20.68 million people Nigeria
2020s 93.12 million people 61.42 million people 31.70 million people Nigeria

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher share of children, working-age adults, and older people, Nigeria or United States?
Nigeria, at 94.55 million people against 60.43 million people in United States as of 2023.
What is the difference in share of children, working-age adults, and older people between Nigeria and United States?
34.12 million people, with Nigeria ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Nigeria and United States?
74 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2023.
How do Nigeria and United States rank globally for share of children, working-age adults, and older people?
Nigeria ranks 3rd and United States ranks 6th of 236 countries.
Where does this data come from?
UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Share of children, working-age adults, and older people. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Share of children, working-age adults, and older people
Unit
people
Source
UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
236 places, 17,464 data points, 1950–2023
Last refreshed

The total population, measured on 1 July of the year shown. This only includes people aged 0-14.