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

Health

be 70.7% less likely to be obese

In Iraq, 30.4% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Nigeria, that number is 8.9% of people as of 2016.

live 11.9 years less

In Iraq, the average life expectancy is 73 years (71 years for men, 75 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 80.2% less likely to be unemployed

In Iraq, 15.5% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Nigeria, that number is 3.1% as of 2023.

make 54.8% less money

Iraq has a GDP per capita of $12,600 as of 2023, while in Nigeria, the GDP per capita is $5,700 as of 2023.

be 74.3% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Iraq, 23.0% live below the poverty line as of 2014. In Nigeria, however, that number is 40.1% as of 2018.

pay a 60.0% higher top tax rate

Iraq has a top tax rate of 15.0% as of 2016. In Nigeria, the top tax rate is 24.0% as of 2016.

Life

be 38.2% less likely to die during childbirth

In Iraq, approximately 76.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Nigeria, 47.0 women do as of 2020.

be 23.8% more likely to be literate

In Iraq, the literacy rate is 50.1% as of 2018. In Nigeria, it is 62.0% as of 2018.

have 42.6% more children

In Iraq, there are approximately 23.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Nigeria, there are 33.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 2.9 times more likely to die during infancy

In Iraq, approximately 19.6 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 12.2% more likely to have internet access

In Iraq, approximately 49.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Nigeria, about 55.0% do as of 2021.

be 39.5% less likely to have access to electricity

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

be 16.8% less likely to have access to improved drinking water

In Iraq, approximately 99% of people have improved drinking water access (100% in urban areas, and 97% 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 89.4% less on education

Iraq spends 4.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2016. Nigeria spends 0.5% of total GDP on education as of 2013.

spend 33.3% less on healthcare

Iraq spends 5.1% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Nigeria, that number is 3.4% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 14.7 times more coastline

Iraq has a total of 58 km of coastline. In Nigeria, that number is 853 km.


The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Ministry of Finance, 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 Iraq? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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