Brazil vs Nigeria: Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents
Brazil
64.18 million people
in 2020
Nigeria
43.76 million people
in 2020
Brazil rank
6th
Nigeria rank
9th
Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents over time
- Brazil
- Nigeria
How they compare
Brazil currently reports 64.18 million people against 43.76 million people in Nigeria, a difference of 20.42 million people.
That makes Brazil's figure about 1.5 times Nigeria's.
Across all 15 years both countries report, Brazil has been ahead every year.
Brazil ranks 6th and Nigeria ranks 9th of 182 countries.
Brazil has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Brazil | Nigeria | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 6.04 million people | 0 people | 6.04 million people | Brazil |
| 1960s | 10.81 million people | 1.47 million people | 9.34 million people | Brazil |
| 1970s | 19.53 million people | 2.31 million people | 17.22 million people | Brazil |
| 1980s | 31.51 million people | 7.73 million people | 23.78 million people | Brazil |
| 1990s | 39.84 million people | 12.02 million people | 27.82 million people | Brazil |
| 2000s | 49.12 million people | 20.09 million people | 29.03 million people | Brazil |
| 2010s | 56.98 million people | 31.91 million people | 25.07 million people | Brazil |
| 2020s | 64.18 million people | 43.76 million people | 20.42 million people | Brazil |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents, Brazil or Nigeria?
- Brazil, at 64.18 million people against 43.76 million people in Nigeria as of 2020.
- What is the difference in number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents between Brazil and Nigeria?
- 20.42 million people, with Brazil 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 number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
- Brazil ranks 6th and Nigeria ranks 9th of 182 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Total population living in cities with 1 million or more people. City boundaries are defined using a consistent global approach based on satellite imagery and population data.