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Country guide· 25 min read

Nigeria rankings 2026: where Nigeria places in 190 global Top 10s

Nigeria is #1 in Countries with the highest maternal mortality ratios, #1 in 8 rankings and inside the top 10 of 54 rankings. Every position, value and source, regenerated as the data refreshes.

Nigeria appears in 190 of the 491 live country rankings on Top10Earth. This guide walks through every one of them: where Nigeria is number one, where it makes the top 10, where it sits further down the table, and what has moved since the previous snapshot. Its best position is #1 in Countries with the highest maternal mortality ratios, where it is measured at 992.83 per 100,000 live births (Maternal mortality ratio) as of 2026-11-02. Nigeria holds the #1 spot in 8 rankings and finishes inside the top 10 in 54 rankings.

Where Nigeria is number one

These are the rankings Nigeria currently tops. The next country in each table is listed too, because a #1 by a whisker and a #1 by a mile are different stories.

Top 10 finishes

Nigeria is inside the top 10 of 46 further rankings beyond the ones it leads. Each entry names the country directly above it, which is the position to beat at the next refresh.

The remaining 34 top-10 positions are in the full list at the end of this guide.

Nigeria by theme

The rankings are grouped by category below, so the economic picture, the health picture and the environmental picture can be read separately. Positions are out of the number of countries each source reports, which differs by ranking.

Environment and energy

In environment and energy, Nigeria holds 53 positions: #1 of 50 in Countries with the most people without electricity (87.3k thousand people), #4 of 50 in Countries with the largest cumulative CO2 emissions from flaring (1,569.68 million tonnes), #5 of 49 in Countries producing the most palm oil (1,460 thousand tonnes) and #5 of 50 in Countries with the most mismanaged plastic waste (1,948.95 thousand tonnes). 49 more rankings are listed below.

World and society

In world and society, Nigeria holds 40 positions: #1 of 50 in Countries with the most people in extreme poverty (94.7k thousand people), #3 of 50 in Countries with the highest urban outdoor air pollution (54.7 micrograms per cubic metre), #4 of 50 in Countries with the most road injury deaths (36.7k deaths) and #4 of 50 in Countries with the worst PM2.5 air pollution (65.74 micrograms per cubic meter). 36 more rankings are listed below.

Food and agriculture

In food and agriculture, Nigeria holds 35 positions: #1 of 50 in Countries with the most people who cannot afford enough calories (123.4k thousand people), #3 of 50 in Countries where a calorie-sufficient diet costs the most (1.96 PPP dollars), #3 of 44 in Countries with the most land used for palm oil (4,488.84 thousand hectares) and #6 of 50 in Countries where most people cannot afford enough calories (56.4 %). 31 more rankings are listed below.

Health and wellbeing

In health and wellbeing, Nigeria holds 30 positions: #1 of 50 in Countries with the highest maternal mortality ratios (992.83 per 100,000 live births), #1 of 50 in Countries with the highest under-5 child mortality rate (115.6 per 1,000 live births), #1 of 50 in Countries with the most children not vaccinated against DTP3 (2,518.59 thousand children) and #1 of 50 in Countries with the most deaths of children under five (855.68 thousand deaths). 26 more rankings are listed below.

Finance and crypto

In finance and crypto, Nigeria holds 27 positions: #1 of 50 in Countries with the most people in extreme poverty (94.73 million), #2 of 50 in Countries by net capital account (10.6k BoP, current US$ million), #5 of 50 in Countries with the highest share of children aged 5-17 in labor (28.1 %) and #5 of 50 in Countries with the largest labor force (116.58 million people). 23 more rankings are listed below.

Consumer tech

In consumer tech, Nigeria holds 2 positions: #10 of 50 in Countries with the most internet users (95.89 million people) and #10 of 50 in Countries with the most mobile phone subscriptions (164.65 million subscriptions).

Education and science

In education and science, Nigeria holds 2 positions: #43 of 50 in Countries with the most scientific journal articles (9.8 thousand) and #49 of 50 in Countries with the most patent applications by residents (0.41 thousand).

Travel

In travel, Nigeria holds 1 position: #35 of 50 in Most-visited countries by international arrivals (5.27 million).

What changed at the latest refresh

Comparing each ranking's newest snapshot with the one before it, Nigeria moved in 176 rankings:

Where Nigeria ranks lowest

A guide that only listed wins would be misleading. Nigeria's lowest current positions are 50th of 50 in Countries using the most water for agriculture (5.51 billion cubic meters), 50th of 50 in Countries with the largest share of global plastic waste imports (0.12 %) and 50th of 50 in Countries with the most immigrants (1,403.28 thousand people). Whether a low position is good or bad depends on the metric: being near the bottom of an emissions or mortality ranking is the better place to be.

Every ranking that includes Nigeria

How to read these numbers

Each ranking measures one metric from one named source at one time, so a #3 in one table and a #3 in another are not directly comparable. Countries also report in different years: the capture date is when Top10Earth fetched the data, while the source's own year is stated on each ranking page under methodology. For a side-by-side with another country on the same measures, open any ranking and use the head-to-head links, or visit Nigeria's entity page for the live table and rank-history chart.

Top10Earth never estimates or edits a value. Each number is fetched from its source on a schedule, hashed, stored and ranked by software, then checked by a quality gate before it is published. If a refresh fails that gate the previous snapshot stays live and a person looks at why. Every past snapshot is kept, which is what makes the rank-history charts on each ranking page possible.

Questions people ask about Nigeria

What is Nigeria's best ranking on Top10Earth?

#1 in Countries with the highest maternal mortality ratios, with 992.83 per 100,000 live births (Maternal mortality ratio) as of 2026-11-02.

How many rankings include Nigeria?

190 current country rankings out of 491 on the site, including 8 rankings where it is #1.

Is Nigeria in the top 10 of anything?

Yes: 54 rankings, including #1 in Countries with the highest maternal mortality ratios, #1 in Countries with the highest under-5 child mortality rate and #1 in Countries with the most children not vaccinated against DTP3.

Where do the numbers come from?

From Our World in Data and World Bank Open Data. Each ranking page names its source, metric definition and capture date.

When was this guide last updated?

The newest snapshot used here was captured on 2026-11-02. The guide is regenerated automatically as rankings refresh.

Live table and history →

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