Mali vs Nigeria

Mali
Sub-Saharan Africa
Low income
Capital: Bamako
Population
24.5M
GDP
$26.8B
Nigeria
Sub-Saharan Africa
Lower middle income
Capital: Abuja
Population
232.7M
GDP
$252.3B

POP 9.5x GDP 9.4x LE 6.0 yrs LIC↔LMC

Widest indicator spreads · Mali vs Nigeria

Education Expenditure (%…92.4%Population Density92.2%Inflation (Consumer Pric…90.4%Population89.5%GDP (Current USD)89.4%Maternal Mortality Ratio63%Forest Area53%Urban Population49.8%
WIDE pair: the board is the Education Expenditure (% of GDP) gap first (Mali LIC vs Nigeria LMC).

Demographics: Population Density (Nigeria, 92% spread)

Indicator Mali Nigeria Year
Population Density 19.5 250.2 2023
Population 24.5M 232.7M 2024
Urban Population 31.6% 63.0% 2024
Population Ages 65+ 2.4% 3.0% 2024

3 closer demographics rows sit on the Mali and Nigeria profiles; this pair keeps the steep spreads only.

Economy: Inflation (Consumer Prices) (Nigeria, 90% spread)

Indicator Mali Nigeria Year
Inflation (Consumer Prices) 3.2% 33.2% 2024
GDP (Current USD) $26.8B $252.3B 2024
GDP Growth Rate 5.0% 4.1% 2024

5 closer economy rows sit on the Mali and Nigeria profiles; this pair keeps the steep spreads only.

Health: Maternal Mortality Ratio (Mali, 63% spread)

Indicator Mali Nigeria Year
Maternal Mortality Ratio 367 993 2023
Under-5 Mortality Rate 73.0 115.6 2024
Infant Mortality Rate 47.5 69.8 2024
Stunting Prevalence (under 5) 25.1% 33.8% 2024

3 closer health rows sit on the Mali and Nigeria profiles; this pair keeps the steep spreads only.

Education: Education Expenditure (% of GDP) (Mali, 92% spread)

Indicator Mali Nigeria Year
Education Expenditure (% of GDP) 4.2% 0.3% 2023
Literacy Rate (Adult) 35.6% 70.4% 2024
School Enrollment (Tertiary) 5.1% 9.7% 2015
Youth Literacy Rate 50.3% 81.4% 2024

2 closer education rows sit on the Mali and Nigeria profiles; this pair keeps the steep spreads only.

Environment: Forest Area (Nigeria, 53% spread)

Indicator Mali Nigeria Year
Forest Area 10.9% 23.2% 2023
Freshwater Withdrawal 8.6% 5.6% 2022
CO2 Emissions Per Capita 0.3 0.6 2024

2 closer environment rows sit on the Mali and Nigeria profiles; this pair keeps the steep spreads only.

Infrastructure: Access to Sanitation (Nigeria, 38% spread)

Indicator Mali Nigeria Year
Access to Sanitation 20.0% 32.2% 2024
Mobile Subscriptions 112.1 70.8 2022

3 closer infrastructure rows sit on the Mali and Nigeria profiles; this pair keeps the steep spreads only.

Social: Female Labor Participation (Nigeria, 34% spread)

Indicator Mali Nigeria Year
Female Labor Participation 53.1% 80.7% 2024
Net Migration -46,880 -35,202 2024

4 closer social rows sit on the Mali and Nigeria profiles; this pair keeps the steep spreads only.

How to read this Mali vs Nigeria comparison

Mali (LIC, Sub-Saharan Africa) vs Nigeria (LMC, Sub-Saharan Africa) is a WIDE WDI pair: population is 9.5x smaller (24.5M vs 232.7M) and total GDP is 9.4x smaller ($26.8B vs $252.3B). The gap board leads on Education Expenditure (% of GDP) (~92% relative spread) across 47 indicators in 8 topics. Cross-tier pair; prefer per-capita and rate columns over raw totals. Figures may come from different reporting years; dollar values move with exchange rates; national averages conceal inequality. See our methodology.

Other curated pairs · WIDE band

Indexable comparisons only (Module 42). Full picker with every country lives on /compare, not duplicated under every pair.

Mali vs Nigeria figures: World Bank Open Data and health rows: WHO Global Health Observatory. CC BY 4.0 · LIC↔LMC · WIDE scale band.