Niger vs Nigeria
Niger vs Nigeria: Government debt
Government debt in 2025: 45.5% of GDP in Niger and 36.1% of GDP in Nigeria, by IMF estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in Niger, by 9.5 percentage points, or 1.26 times that in Nigeria.
% of GDP · IMF
What the numbers say
- Niger has been higher in every year both have figures for since 1995.
- In 2025, Niger ranked 90 and Nigeria ranked 114 of 149 countries, counting from the highest.
- The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts Niger at 43.4% of GDP and Nigeria at 31.9% of GDP in 2031.
Every year
% of GDP · IMF
| Year | Niger | Nigeria |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 45.5 | 36.1 |
| 2024 | 48.1 | 39.3 |
| 2023 | 51.4 | 36.3 |
| 2022 | 50.7 | 29.8 |
| 2021 | 51.3 | 26.6 |
| 2020 | 45 | 25.7 |
| 2019 | 39.8 | 21.4 |
| 2018 | 37 | 20.4 |
| 2017 | 36.5 | 18 |
| 2016 | 32.8 | 17.4 |
| 2015 | 29.9 | 14.9 |
| 2014 | 22.1 | 15.8 |
| 2013 | 19.6 | 13 |
| 2012 | 18.1 | 12.5 |
| 2011 | 14.8 | 12.4 |
| 2010 | 15.1 | 6.7 |
| 2009 | 15.9 | 6.1 |
| 2008 | 14.2 | 5.2 |
| 2007 | 17.8 | 5.8 |
| 2006 | 18.3 | 6.7 |
| 2005 | 49.5 | 13.5 |
| 2004 | 55.1 | 25.2 |
| 2003 | 60.6 | 29.9 |
| 2002 | 69 | 30.7 |
| 2001 | 74 | 37.7 |
| 2000 | 82.1 | 40.9 |
| 1999 | 63.4 | 46.1 |
| 1998 | 61.3 | 15.8 |
| 1997 | 69.1 | 17.1 |
| 1996 | 63.5 | 17.9 |
| 1995 | 69.4 | 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 | Niger | Nigeria |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 46.3 | 34.7 |
| 2027 | 45.4 | 32.8 |
| 2028 | 44.8 | 32.9 |
| 2029 | 44.2 | 32.5 |
| 2030 | 43.8 | 32.2 |
| 2031 | 43.4 | 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
Niger vs Nigeria
Health
- Life expectancyNiger: 61.2 years in 2023Nigeria: 54.5 years in 2023
- Child mortalityNiger: 11.1 per 100 live births in 2024Nigeria: 11.6 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityNiger: 64.6 per 1,000 live births in 2023Nigeria: 69.5 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionNiger: 3.46% in 2017Nigeria: 3.92% in 2017
- Suicide rateNiger: 7.6 per 100,000 people in 2017Nigeria: 7.5 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationNiger: 26.2 million people in 2023Nigeria: 228 million people in 2023
- Population growthNiger: 3.31% a year in 2023Nigeria: 2.1% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateNiger: 6.06 births per woman in 2023Nigeria: 4.48 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationNiger: 18.4% in 2025Nigeria: 63.8% in 2025
- Median ageNiger: 15.3 years in 2023Nigeria: 17.8 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overNiger: 2.6% in 2023Nigeria: 3% in 2023
- Net migration rateNiger: 0 per 1,000 people in 2023Nigeria: -0.3 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingNiger: 2.14% of GDP in 2025Nigeria: 0.91% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsNiger: $450M in 2025Nigeria: $1.76B in 2025
- Military spending per personNiger: $18 in 2025Nigeria: $9 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingNiger: 15.2% of government spending in 2025Nigeria: 5.9% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelNiger: 10,000 people in 2020Nigeria: 223,000 people in 2020
- National powerNiger: 0.11% of world capability in 2022Nigeria: 1.16% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersNiger: 0.11% of the labour force in 2020Nigeria: 0.23% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsNiger: 4 million TIV in 2025Nigeria: 21 million TIV in 2025
- Arms exportsNiger: 0 TIV in 1973Nigeria: 4 million TIV in 2022