Nigeria is regarded as the giant of Africa with a population of 206Million as of 2021. This makes Nigeria the biggest country in Africa in terms of population, but is Nigeria also the biggest country in terms of landmass?
This article examines 13 other African countries which are way bigger than Nigeria (See why Nigeria is richer than most other African countries) in terms of landmass. Nigeria itself has a landmass of 923,768 km2 (356,669 sq mi).
Countries bigger than Nigeria (from the bottom to top)
13. Tanzania: This country has an area of 945,203 km2 (364,945 sq mi) which makes it roughly the same size as Nigeria, but bigger non the less.
Tanzania has a plethora of wildlife animals and it is home to only of a handful of African presidents who are females.
12. Egypt: This country has a long history in the religious sphere of the world. With an area of 1,001,449 km2 (386,662 sq mi), Egypt is one of the bigger countries in Africa especially if you add the Sinai region which some believe is a part of Asia.
11. Mauritania: With an area of 1,030,700 km2 (397,955 sq mi) which makes it bigger than Nigeria, Mauritania has just over 4million people which is 50 times less than that of Nigeria.
10. Ethiopia: this country is not open to anybody of water which makes it not just a landlocked country but it holds the title of the biggest landlocked country in the world by landmass.
The country has an area of 1,104,300 km2 (426,373 sq mi), which makes it bigger than Nigeria by some decent margin.
9. South Africa: Nigeria and South Africa had a strong relationship in the past and Nigeria contributed to greatly to the liberation of South Africa.
In 1976, Nigerians including civil servants and school children contributed over $10M to the South African Relief Fund. This money was also known as the Mandela Tax.
South Africa has a landmass of 1,221,037 km2 (471,445 sq mi) which is bigger than that of Nigeria.
8. Mali: this country which has roughly the same size as Angola measures at 1,240,192 km2 (478,841 sq mi), which is around 300km Sq bigger than Nigeria.
7. Angola: this is also an oil-producing country just like Nigeria. At 64milion metric tonnes, Angola is the continent’s second oil producer just behind Nigeria which produces 86 million metric tonnes. Angola is 1,246,700 km2 (481,354 sq mi) in area which is substantially bigger than Nigeria.
6. Niger: Niger is at the Northern border of Nigeria. A lot of Nigerians can trace their roots to Niger. Hausa is a common language by people from Northern Nigeria as well as Nigeriens.
At a total landmass of 1,267,000 km2 (489,191 sq mi), Niger is still bigger than Nigeria but the temperature in Niger is substantially hotter than Nigeria.
13 African Countries that are bigger than Nigeria (Nigeria is colored in green)
5. Chad: This is another country that borders Nigeria to the North. Chad is in a military alliance with Nigeria which also includes Cameroon in other to fight terrorism in that region.
Lake Chad is a place where a lot of Nigerians usually fish from. It has a landmass of 1,284,000 km2 (495,755 sq mi), which makes it bigger than Nigeria.
4. Libya: this is the home of Muammar Gaddafi, the ruler who brought prosperity to his country but whom the Western Media painted as the Devil. Gaddafi was killed and the whole of Libya is in disarray.
The country has a landmass almost twice that of Nigeria at 1,759,540 km2 (679,362 sq mi).
3. Sudan: Sudan is a massive space of land that has been plagued by problems and conflicts over time. South Sudan produces a substantial amount of oil and the country has a landmass of 1,861,484 km2 (718,723 sq mi).
2. DR Congo: this country has a monstrous amount of minerals but the benefits of such resources are hardly seen. At an enormous 1,861,484 km2 (718,723 sq mi), DR congo occupies a massive chunk of land in Africa which makes it a lot bigger than Nigeria.
1. Algeria: this country is mostly desert and only about 20% of the land is even habitable to humans. The rest of the land can’t support life and at 2,381,741 km2 (919,595 sq mi), Algeria is by far the biggest country in Africa by landmass.
Author
Abbey Johnson has a Masters degree as an engineer and has over 3 years of teaching and research experience. He is happiest when on a bike and is also interested in electric energy and computer Science.