Colombia vs Nigeria: Share of population living in rural areas
Colombia
18.5%
in 2020
Nigeria
19.4%
in 2020
Colombia rank
161st
Nigeria rank
158th
Share of population living in rural areas over time
- Colombia
- Nigeria
How they compare
Nigeria currently reports 19.4% against 18.5% in Colombia, a difference of 0.9%.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Colombia ahead.
Colombia ranks 161st and Nigeria ranks 158th of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Colombia averaged higher in 6 and Nigeria in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Colombia | Nigeria | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 41.8% | 34.4% | 7.5% | Colombia |
| 1960s | 35.0% | 32.1% | 2.9% | Colombia |
| 1970s | 29.1% | 29.2% | 0.1% | Nigeria |
| 1980s | 28.2% | 27.7% | 0.6% | Colombia |
| 1990s | 27.0% | 25.4% | 1.6% | Colombia |
| 2000s | 22.8% | 22.3% | 0.5% | Colombia |
| 2010s | 20.2% | 20.0% | 0.3% | Colombia |
| 2020s | 18.5% | 19.4% | 0.9% | Nigeria |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in rural areas, Colombia or Nigeria?
- Nigeria, at 19.4% against 18.5% in Colombia as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in rural areas between Colombia and Nigeria?
- 0.9%, with Nigeria ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Colombia and Nigeria?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Colombia and Nigeria rank globally for share of population living in rural areas?
- Colombia ranks 161st and Nigeria ranks 158th 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 Share of population living in rural areas. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Estimated share of the population living in rural areas. Rural areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.