Nigeria vs USSR: The global population hockey stick

Nigeria
227.88 million people
in 2023
USSR
292.66 million people
in 1991
Nigeria rank
7th
USSR rank
4th

The global population hockey stick over time

  • Nigeria
  • USSR
0100.0M200.0M300.0M100015112023

How they compare

USSR currently reports 292.66 million people against 227.88 million people in Nigeria, a difference of 64.78 million people.

That makes USSR's figure about 1.3 times Nigeria's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 209 shared years of data; in 1000 it was Nigeria ahead.

Nigeria ranks 7th and USSR ranks 4th of 239 countries.

Across the 37 decades both report, Nigeria averaged higher in 1 and USSR in 36.

Head to head by decade

Decade Nigeria USSR Difference Ahead
1000s 7.00 million people 6.88 million people 115,440 people Nigeria
1100s 7.50 million people 9.14 million people 1.64 million people USSR
1200s 8.00 million people 12.34 million people 4.34 million people USSR
1300s 9.00 million people 13.04 million people 4.04 million people USSR
1400s 10.00 million people 13.05 million people 3.05 million people USSR
1500s 11.00 million people 16.20 million people 5.20 million people USSR
1600s 14.00 million people 19.76 million people 5.76 million people USSR
1700s 18.00 million people 23.29 million people 5.29 million people USSR
1710s 18.80 million people 25.85 million people 7.05 million people USSR
1720s 18.94 million people 28.88 million people 9.94 million people USSR
1730s 19.09 million people 31.96 million people 12.87 million people USSR
1740s 19.24 million people 35.10 million people 15.86 million people USSR
1750s 19.41 million people 38.30 million people 18.89 million people USSR
1760s 19.58 million people 41.56 million people 21.98 million people USSR
1770s 19.77 million people 44.90 million people 25.13 million people USSR
1780s 19.96 million people 48.31 million people 28.34 million people USSR
1790s 20.18 million people 51.81 million people 31.63 million people USSR
1800s 12.10 million people 54.97 million people 42.87 million people USSR
1810s 12.10 million people 55.21 million people 43.11 million people USSR
1820s 12.31 million people 57.72 million people 45.41 million people USSR
1830s 12.78 million people 63.03 million people 50.26 million people USSR
1840s 13.26 million people 69.22 million people 55.95 million people USSR
1850s 13.86 million people 76.00 million people 62.14 million people USSR
1860s 14.63 million people 83.45 million people 68.82 million people USSR
1870s 15.54 million people 91.58 million people 76.03 million people USSR
1880s 16.68 million people 100.56 million people 83.88 million people USSR
1890s 17.94 million people 110.46 million people 92.52 million people USSR
1900s 19.53 million people 121.33 million people 101.81 million people USSR
1910s 21.65 million people 132.22 million people 110.57 million people USSR
1920s 24.56 million people 143.82 million people 119.26 million people USSR
1930s 28.62 million people 157.28 million people 128.66 million people USSR
1940s 33.68 million people 171.95 million people 138.27 million people USSR
1950s 40.63 million people 195.05 million people 154.42 million people USSR
1960s 49.66 million people 227.71 million people 178.04 million people USSR
1970s 63.02 million people 252.41 million people 189.39 million people USSR
1980s 83.95 million people 276.90 million people 192.96 million people USSR
1990s 98.42 million people 291.87 million people 193.44 million people USSR

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher the global population hockey stick, Nigeria or USSR?
USSR, at 292.66 million people against 227.88 million people in Nigeria as of 1991.
What is the difference in the global population hockey stick between Nigeria and USSR?
64.78 million people, with USSR ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Nigeria and USSR?
209 years are reported by both, from 1000 to 1991.
How do Nigeria and USSR rank globally for the global population hockey stick?
Nigeria ranks 7th and USSR ranks 4th of 239 countries.
Where does this data come from?
HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – 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.

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Nigeria vs USSR: The global population hockey stick. Statizoid, drawing on HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 06 September 2026, from https://population.statizoid.com/compare/world-population-over-the-last-12000-years-and-un-projection-until-2100/nigeria/ussr/

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About this data

Indicator
The global population hockey stick
Unit
people
Source
HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
239 places, 51,002 data points, 1000–2023
Last refreshed

Population by country, available from 10,000 BCE to 2023, based on data and estimates from different sources.