Brazil vs Nigeria: Share of population living in urban and rural areas
Brazil
79.2%
in 2020
Nigeria
80.6%
in 2020
Brazil rank
82nd
Nigeria rank
79th
Share of population living in urban and rural areas over time
- Brazil
- Nigeria
How they compare
Nigeria currently reports 80.6% against 79.2% in Brazil, a difference of 1.4%.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Nigeria ahead.
Brazil ranks 82nd and Nigeria ranks 79th of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Brazil averaged higher in 2 and Nigeria in 6.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Brazil | Nigeria | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 55.5% | 65.6% | 10.1% | Nigeria |
| 1960s | 62.1% | 67.9% | 5.8% | Nigeria |
| 1970s | 67.7% | 70.8% | 3.1% | Nigeria |
| 1980s | 72.4% | 72.3% | 0.0% | Brazil |
| 1990s | 75.1% | 74.6% | 0.4% | Brazil |
| 2000s | 77.2% | 77.7% | 0.5% | Nigeria |
| 2010s | 78.6% | 80.0% | 1.4% | Nigeria |
| 2020s | 79.2% | 80.6% | 1.3% | Nigeria |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in urban and rural areas, Brazil or Nigeria?
- Nigeria, at 80.6% against 79.2% in Brazil as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in urban and rural areas between Brazil and Nigeria?
- 1.4%, with Nigeria ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Brazil and Nigeria?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Brazil and Nigeria rank globally for share of population living in urban and rural areas?
- Brazil ranks 82nd and Nigeria ranks 79th 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 urban and 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 urban areas (the sum of cities and towns and suburbs). Urban areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.