Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Nigeria instead of Somalia, you would:
Health
see 5.0 times more spent on your healthcare
Somalia spends $52 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Nigeria spends $260 as of 2023.
have 40.7% more access to essential health services
Somalia scores 27 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Nigeria scores 38 as of 2021.
be 37.3% less likely to die by suicide
Somalia has a suicide rate of 8.0 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Nigeria, it is 5.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 12.0 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Somalia, 0.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Nigeria, that number is 1.2% of people as of 2024.
live 4.3 years less
In Somalia, the average life expectancy is 59 years (56 years for men, 62 years for women) as of 2024. In Nigeria, that number is 55 years (54 years for men, 55 years for women) as of 2024.
Economy
be 83.9% less likely to be unemployed
In Somalia, 18.9% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Nigeria, that number is 3.1% as of 2025.
make 85.2% more money
Somalia has a GDP per capita of $661 as of 2025, while in Nigeria, the GDP per capita is $1,224 as of 2025.
Life
be 30.1% more likely to be literate
In Somalia, the literacy rate is 54.1% as of 2022. In Nigeria, it is 70.4% as of 2024.
be 76.4% more likely to die during childbirth
In Somalia, approximately 563.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Nigeria, 993.0 women do as of 2023.
have 23.3% fewer children
In Somalia, there are approximately 42.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Nigeria, there are 32.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 21.7% more likely to have access to electricity
In Somalia, approximately 50% of people have electricity access (79% in urban areas, and 24% 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 47.5% more likely to have internet access
In Somalia, approximately 27.9% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Nigeria, about 41.2% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 12.0% more on healthcare
Somalia spends 3.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Nigeria, that number is 4.2% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 71.8% less coastline
Somalia has a total of 3,025 km of coastline. In Nigeria, that number is 853 km.
Safety
be 14.9% less likely to die in a road accident
In Somalia, 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 60.6% less strain on fresh water
Somalia withdraws 25% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Nigeria withdraws 10% as of 2022.
find 88.9% less home broadband
Somalia has 0.7 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2023. Nigeria has 0.1 as of 2024.
Environment
be 20.3% more likely to die from air pollution
In Somalia, air pollution causes 64.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Nigeria, it causes 77.0 as of 2019.
emit 11.4 times more CO2
Somalia emits 0.1 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), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Somalia vs. Nigeria
Nigeria: At a glance
How big is Nigeria compared to Somalia? See an in-depth size comparison.