Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Nigeria instead of Canada, you would:

Health

be 69.7% less likely to be obese

In Canada, 29.4% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Nigeria, that number is 8.9% of people as of 2016.

live 22.5 years less

In Canada, the average life expectancy is 84 years (82 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2022. In Nigeria, that number is 61 years (60 years for men, 63 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

be 42.8% less likely to be unemployed

In Canada, 5.4% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Nigeria, that number is 3.1% as of 2023.

pay a 27.3% lower top tax rate

Canada has a top tax rate of 33.0% as of 2016. In Nigeria, the top tax rate is 24.0% as of 2016.

make 89.8% less money

Canada has a GDP per capita of $55,800 as of 2023, while in Nigeria, the GDP per capita is $5,700 as of 2023.

be 4.3 times more likely to live below the poverty line

In Canada, 9.4% live below the poverty line as of 2008. In Nigeria, however, that number is 40.1% as of 2018.

Life

have 3.3 times more children

In Canada, there are approximately 10.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In Nigeria, there are 33.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 4.3 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Canada, approximately 11.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Nigeria, 47.0 women do as of 2020.

be 12.9 times more likely to die during infancy

In Canada, approximately 4.4 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Nigeria, on the other hand, 56.7 children do as of 2022.

Basic Needs

be 39.5% less likely to have access to electricity

In Canada, approximately 100% of the population has electricity access as of 2022. In Nigeria, 60% of the population do as of 2022.

be 40.9% less likely to have internet access

In Canada, approximately 93.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Nigeria, about 55.0% do as of 2021.

be 16.7% less likely to have access to improved drinking water

In Canada, approximately 99% of people have improved drinking water access (99% in urban areas, and 99% in rural areas) as of 2020. In Nigeria, that number is 83% of people on average (95% in urban areas, and 69% in rural areas) as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 90.4% less on education

Canada spends 5.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Nigeria spends 0.5% of total GDP on education as of 2013.

spend 73.6% less on healthcare

Canada spends 12.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Nigeria, that number is 3.4% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 99.6% less coastline

Canada has a total of 202,080 km of coastline. In Nigeria, that number is 853 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Canada Revenue Agency, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Nigeria.

Nigeria: At a glance

Nigeria is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 910,768 sq km. British influence and control over what would become Nigeria and Africa's most populous country grew through the 19th century. A series of constitutions after World War II granted Nigeria greater autonomy; independence came in 1960. Following nearly 16 years of military rule, a new constitution was adopted in 1999, and a peaceful transition to civilian government was completed. The government continues to face the daunting task of reforming a petroleum-based economy, whose revenues have been squandered through corruption and mismanagement, and institutionalizing democracy. In addition, Nigeria continues to experience longstanding ethnic and religious tensions. Although both the 2003 and 2007 presidential elections were marred by significant irregularities and violence, Nigeria is currently experiencing its longest period of civilian rule since independence. The general elections of April 2007 marked the first civilian-to-civilian transfer of power in the country's history and the elections of 2011 were generally regarded as credible. In January 2014, Nigeria assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2014-15 term.
Read more

How big is Nigeria compared to Canada? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Nigeria.or Canada It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.