Mexico vs Nigeria: Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents
Mexico
34.17 million people
in 2020
Nigeria
43.76 million people
in 2020
Mexico rank
11th
Nigeria rank
9th
Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents over time
- Mexico
- Nigeria
How they compare
Nigeria currently reports 43.76 million people against 34.17 million people in Mexico, a difference of 9.59 million people.
That makes Nigeria's figure about 1.3 times Mexico's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Mexico ahead.
Mexico ranks 11th and Nigeria ranks 9th of 182 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Mexico averaged higher in 7 and Nigeria in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Mexico | Nigeria | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 4.10 million people | 0 people | 4.10 million people | Mexico |
| 1960s | 7.08 million people | 1.47 million people | 5.61 million people | Mexico |
| 1970s | 13.31 million people | 2.31 million people | 11.00 million people | Mexico |
| 1980s | 18.51 million people | 7.73 million people | 10.78 million people | Mexico |
| 1990s | 24.13 million people | 12.02 million people | 12.12 million people | Mexico |
| 2000s | 30.68 million people | 20.09 million people | 10.59 million people | Mexico |
| 2010s | 34.91 million people | 31.91 million people | 3.00 million people | Mexico |
| 2020s | 34.17 million people | 43.76 million people | 9.59 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, Mexico or Nigeria?
- Nigeria, at 43.76 million people against 34.17 million people in Mexico as of 2020.
- What is the difference in number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents between Mexico and Nigeria?
- 9.59 million people, with Nigeria ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Mexico and Nigeria?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Mexico and Nigeria rank globally for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
- Mexico ranks 11th 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.
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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.