Nigeria vs Pakistan: The global population hockey stick
Nigeria
227.88 million people
in 2023
Pakistan
247.50 million people
in 2023
Nigeria rank
7th
Pakistan rank
6th
The global population hockey stick over time
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
How they compare
Pakistan currently reports 247.50 million people against 227.88 million people in Nigeria, a difference of 19.62 million people.
That makes Pakistan's figure about 1.1 times Nigeria's.
The two have swapped places 5 times across 241 shared years of data; in 1000 it was Nigeria ahead.
Nigeria ranks 7th and Pakistan ranks 6th of 239 countries.
Across the 40 decades both report, Nigeria averaged higher in 23 and Pakistan in 17.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Nigeria | Pakistan | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1000s | 7.00 million people | 6.54 million people | 455,000 people | Nigeria |
| 1100s | 7.50 million people | 6.80 million people | 700,000 people | Nigeria |
| 1200s | 8.00 million people | 7.05 million people | 945,000 people | Nigeria |
| 1300s | 9.00 million people | 7.05 million people | 1.95 million people | Nigeria |
| 1400s | 10.00 million people | 7.99 million people | 2.01 million people | Nigeria |
| 1500s | 11.00 million people | 8.50 million people | 2.50 million people | Nigeria |
| 1600s | 14.00 million people | 11.05 million people | 2.95 million people | Nigeria |
| 1700s | 18.00 million people | 13.60 million people | 4.40 million people | Nigeria |
| 1710s | 18.80 million people | 13.74 million people | 5.06 million people | Nigeria |
| 1720s | 18.94 million people | 14.02 million people | 4.92 million people | Nigeria |
| 1730s | 19.09 million people | 14.31 million people | 4.78 million people | Nigeria |
| 1740s | 19.24 million people | 14.60 million people | 4.64 million people | Nigeria |
| 1750s | 19.41 million people | 14.90 million people | 4.51 million people | Nigeria |
| 1760s | 19.58 million people | 15.20 million people | 4.38 million people | Nigeria |
| 1770s | 19.77 million people | 15.51 million people | 4.26 million people | Nigeria |
| 1780s | 19.96 million people | 15.83 million people | 4.14 million people | Nigeria |
| 1790s | 20.18 million people | 16.15 million people | 4.03 million people | Nigeria |
| 1800s | 12.10 million people | 13.24 million people | 1.14 million people | Pakistan |
| 1810s | 12.10 million people | 13.52 million people | 1.41 million people | Pakistan |
| 1820s | 12.31 million people | 13.86 million people | 1.55 million people | Pakistan |
| 1830s | 12.78 million people | 14.32 million people | 1.54 million people | Pakistan |
| 1840s | 13.26 million people | 14.80 million people | 1.53 million people | Pakistan |
| 1850s | 13.86 million people | 15.24 million people | 1.38 million people | Pakistan |
| 1860s | 14.63 million people | 15.64 million people | 1.01 million people | Pakistan |
| 1870s | 15.54 million people | 16.20 million people | 660,620 people | Pakistan |
| 1880s | 16.68 million people | 16.98 million people | 300,140 people | Pakistan |
| 1890s | 17.94 million people | 17.80 million people | 140,210 people | Nigeria |
| 1900s | 19.53 million people | 18.66 million people | 868,990 people | Nigeria |
| 1910s | 21.65 million people | 20.27 million people | 1.38 million people | Nigeria |
| 1920s | 24.56 million people | 23.62 million people | 943,980 people | Nigeria |
| 1930s | 28.62 million people | 28.34 million people | 287,870 people | Nigeria |
| 1940s | 33.68 million people | 34.02 million people | 335,510 people | Pakistan |
| 1950s | 40.63 million people | 39.84 million people | 788,560 people | Nigeria |
| 1960s | 49.66 million people | 51.74 million people | 2.08 million people | Pakistan |
| 1970s | 63.02 million people | 68.88 million people | 5.86 million people | Pakistan |
| 1980s | 83.95 million people | 97.06 million people | 13.12 million people | Pakistan |
| 1990s | 109.65 million people | 133.03 million people | 23.38 million people | Pakistan |
| 2000s | 143.50 million people | 173.93 million people | 30.43 million people | Pakistan |
| 2010s | 188.20 million people | 215.44 million people | 27.25 million people | Pakistan |
| 2020s | 220.89 million people | 241.42 million people | 20.53 million people | Pakistan |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher the global population hockey stick, Nigeria or Pakistan?
- Pakistan, at 247.50 million people against 227.88 million people in Nigeria as of 2023.
- What is the difference in the global population hockey stick between Nigeria and Pakistan?
- 19.62 million people, with Pakistan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Nigeria and Pakistan?
- 241 years are reported by both, from 1000 to 2023.
- How do Nigeria and Pakistan rank globally for the global population hockey stick?
- Nigeria ranks 7th and Pakistan ranks 6th of 239 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) β with major processing by Our World in Data, published as The global population hockey stick. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Population by country, available from 10,000 BCE to 2023, based on data and estimates from different sources.