Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Nigeria instead of Malawi, you would:
Health
be 80.6% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Malawi, 6.2% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Nigeria, that number is 1.2% of people as of 2024.
see 2.1 times more spent on your healthcare
Malawi spends $125 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Nigeria spends $260 as of 2023.
have 7.0 times more doctors per person
Malawi has 0.5 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Nigeria has 3.8 as of 2023.
be 34.1% less likely to die by suicide
Malawi has a suicide rate of 7.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Nigeria, it is 5.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.
live 12.9 years less
In Malawi, the average life expectancy is 68 years (64 years for men, 71 years for women) as of 2024. In Nigeria, that number is 55 years (54 years for men, 55 years for women) as of 2024.
be 70.9% more likely to be obese
In Malawi, 8.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Nigeria, that number is 13.7% of people as of 2024.
have 20.8% less access to essential health services
Malawi scores 48 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Nigeria scores 38 as of 2021.
Economy
be 39.6% less likely to be unemployed
In Malawi, 5.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Nigeria, that number is 3.1% as of 2025.
make 82.3% more money
Malawi has a GDP per capita of $672 as of 2025, while in Nigeria, the GDP per capita is $1,224 as of 2025.
be 18.8% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Malawi, 47.3% live below the poverty line as of 2024. In Nigeria, however, that number is 56.2% as of 2022.
Life
be 4.4 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Malawi, approximately 225.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Nigeria, 993.0 women do as of 2023.
be 83.7% more likely to die during infancy
In Malawi, approximately 38.0 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Nigeria, on the other hand, 69.8 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 3.9 times more likely to have access to electricity
In Malawi, approximately 16% of people have electricity access (58% in urban areas, and 6% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Nigeria, that number is 61% of people on average (85% in urban areas, and 33% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 2.2 times more likely to have internet access
In Malawi, approximately 19.0% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Nigeria, about 41.2% do as of 2024.
be 12.6% more likely to have access to drinking water
In Malawi, approximately 73% of people have access to drinking water (86% in urban areas, and 70% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Nigeria, that number is 82% of people on average (95% in urban areas, and 67% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 88.4% less on education
Malawi spends 2.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Nigeria spends 0.3% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 35.8% less on healthcare
Malawi spends 6.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Nigeria, that number is 4.2% of GDP as of 2023.
Safety
be 14.9% less likely to die in a road accident
In Malawi, road accidents kill 20.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Nigeria, they kill 17.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 44.7% less strain on fresh water
Malawi withdraws 18% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Nigeria withdraws 10% as of 2022.
find 11.1% less home broadband
Malawi has 0.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Nigeria has 0.1 as of 2024.
Environment
be 79.1% more likely to die from air pollution
In Malawi, air pollution causes 43.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Nigeria, it causes 77.0 as of 2019.
emit 2.6 times more CO2
Malawi emits 0.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Nigeria emits 0.6 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Malawi vs. Nigeria
Nigeria: At a glance
How big is Nigeria compared to Malawi? See an in-depth size comparison.