Does Nigeria have more people than Russia?
Yes. Nigeria has more people than Russia: about 238 million against 144 million (World Bank estimates for 2025), 1.7 times as many.
Nigeria is also more crowded: 261 people per km² of land against 8.8.
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Why it surprises
On a world map Russia is enormous, the largest country on Earth, while Nigeria is one of many mid-sized countries in West Africa. It feels natural that the bigger country has more people, but area and population are different things. Russia has about 16.4 million km² of land, 18 times Nigeria’s 911,000 km², yet in the World Bank’s 2025 estimates Nigeria has about 238 million people and Russia about 144 million. Population density, the number of people per square kilometre, shows why: about 261 in Nigeria against fewer than 9 in Russia. People are not spread evenly over a country, and huge parts of Russia are very thinly settled. Among the 194 countries in our deck, Nigeria ranks sixth by population and Russia ninth.
Sources for this explanation
- National Geographic Society Education: education.nationalgeographic.org, checked 25 October 2026
- U.S. Census Bureau: census.gov, checked 25 October 2026
Where the numbers come from
Population and area: The World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0). Total population (SP.POP.TOTL) for 2025. Details: Nigeria and Russia.
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