South Korea vs Nigeria: Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents
South Korea
30.90 million people
in 2020
Nigeria
43.76 million people
in 2020
South Korea rank
12th
Nigeria rank
9th
Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents over time
- South Korea
- Nigeria
How they compare
Nigeria currently reports 43.76 million people against 30.90 million people in South Korea, a difference of 12.86 million people.
That makes Nigeria's figure about 1.4 times South Korea's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was South Korea ahead.
South Korea ranks 12th and Nigeria ranks 9th of 182 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, South Korea averaged higher in 6 and Nigeria in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | South Korea | Nigeria | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 4.12 million people | 0 people | 4.12 million people | South Korea |
| 1960s | 7.28 million people | 1.47 million people | 5.82 million people | South Korea |
| 1970s | 12.70 million people | 2.31 million people | 10.39 million people | South Korea |
| 1980s | 18.34 million people | 7.73 million people | 10.61 million people | South Korea |
| 1990s | 25.19 million people | 12.02 million people | 13.18 million people | South Korea |
| 2000s | 28.05 million people | 20.09 million people | 7.96 million people | South Korea |
| 2010s | 29.62 million people | 31.91 million people | 2.29 million people | Nigeria |
| 2020s | 30.90 million people | 43.76 million people | 12.86 million people | Nigeria |
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, South Korea or Nigeria?
- Nigeria, at 43.76 million people against 30.90 million people in South Korea as of 2020.
- What is the difference in number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents between South Korea and Nigeria?
- 12.86 million people, with Nigeria ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for South Korea and Nigeria?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do South Korea and Nigeria rank globally for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
- South Korea ranks 12th 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.