China vs Nigeria
China vs Nigeria: Government debt
Government debt in 2025: 98.6% of GDP in China and 36.1% of GDP in Nigeria, by IMF estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in China, by 62.6 percentage points, or 2.73 times that in Nigeria.
% of GDP · IMF
What the numbers say
- China has been higher since 2004, when it overtook Nigeria.
- In 2025, China ranked 17 and Nigeria ranked 114 of 149 countries, counting from the highest.
- The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts China at 122.1% of GDP and Nigeria at 31.9% of GDP in 2031.
Every year
% of GDP · IMF
| Year | China | Nigeria |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 98.6 | 36.1 |
| 2024 | 90.5 | 39.3 |
| 2023 | 84.1 | 36.3 |
| 2022 | 77.3 | 29.8 |
| 2021 | 72.1 | 26.6 |
| 2020 | 70.6 | 25.7 |
| 2019 | 59.9 | 21.4 |
| 2018 | 55.7 | 20.4 |
| 2017 | 53.7 | 18 |
| 2016 | 50 | 17.4 |
| 2015 | 40.9 | 14.9 |
| 2014 | 39.4 | 15.8 |
| 2013 | 36.6 | 13 |
| 2012 | 33.9 | 12.5 |
| 2011 | 33 | 12.4 |
| 2010 | 33.1 | 6.7 |
| 2009 | 33.9 | 6.1 |
| 2008 | 26.6 | 5.2 |
| 2007 | 28.8 | 5.8 |
| 2006 | 25.2 | 6.7 |
| 2005 | 26 | 13.5 |
| 2004 | 25.9 | 25.2 |
| 2003 | 26.4 | 29.9 |
| 2002 | 25.5 | 30.7 |
| 2001 | 24.2 | 37.7 |
| 2000 | 22.6 | 40.9 |
| 1999 | 21.6 | 46.1 |
| 1998 | 20.4 | 15.8 |
| 1997 | 20.4 | 17.1 |
| 1996 | 21.2 | 17.9 |
| 1995 | 21.4 | 24.2 |
| 1994 | – | 39.7 |
| 1993 | – | 50.4 |
| 1992 | – | 49.8 |
| 1991 | – | 53.2 |
| 1990 | – | 50.9 |
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031
| Year | China | Nigeria |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 104.4 | 34.7 |
| 2027 | 109.1 | 32.8 |
| 2028 | 113.2 | 32.9 |
| 2029 | 116.4 | 32.5 |
| 2030 | 119.5 | 32.2 |
| 2031 | 122.1 | 31.9 |
Each country on its own
Good to know
- What the government owes, as a share of the economy’s yearly output.
- Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook, October 2026.
- The dashed line is the IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026), a scenario rather than a forecast.
- Ranks count the 149 countries with a value in 2025, highest first.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time
China vs Nigeria
Health
- Life expectancyChina: 78 years in 2023Nigeria: 54.5 years in 2023
- Child mortalityChina: 0.6 per 100 live births in 2024Nigeria: 11.6 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityChina: 5.1 per 1,000 live births in 2023Nigeria: 69.5 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionChina: 3.31% in 2017Nigeria: 3.92% in 2017
- Suicide rateChina: 7.2 per 100,000 people in 2017Nigeria: 7.5 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationChina: 1.42 billion people in 2023Nigeria: 228 million people in 2023
- Population growthChina: -0.24% a year in 2023Nigeria: 2.1% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateChina: 1 births per woman in 2023Nigeria: 4.48 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationChina: 66.3% in 2025Nigeria: 63.8% in 2025
- Median ageChina: 39.1 years in 2023Nigeria: 17.8 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overChina: 14.3% in 2023Nigeria: 3% in 2023
- Net migration rateChina: -0.4 per 1,000 people in 2023Nigeria: -0.3 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingChina: 1.73% of GDP in 2025Nigeria: 0.91% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsChina: $335B in 2025Nigeria: $1.76B in 2025
- Military spending per personChina: $237 in 2025Nigeria: $9 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingChina: 5.1% of government spending in 2025Nigeria: 5.9% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelChina: 2.54 million people in 2020Nigeria: 223,000 people in 2020
- National powerChina: 23.41% of world capability in 2022Nigeria: 1.16% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersChina: 0.33% of the labour force in 2020Nigeria: 0.23% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsChina: 207 million TIV in 2025Nigeria: 21 million TIV in 2025
- Arms exportsChina: 880 million TIV in 2025Nigeria: 4 million TIV in 2022