Country comparison · 137 cities measured
Democratic Republic of the Congo vs Nigeria Air quality index (AQI) and deforestation
Democratic Republic of the Congo has cleaner air than Nigeria right now: its cities average AQI 47 against 103.
At ground stations alone, which measure rather than estimate, the averages are Democratic Republic of the Congo 77 (3 cities) and Nigeria 70 (14 cities), which puts Nigeria ahead instead. Democratic Republic of the Congo has lost more forest since 2001. Democratic Republic of the Congo has more tree cover in its cities.
Average of 38 cities
AQI 47
Good
Cleaner on average
- At ground stations
- AQI 77
- Tree cover
- 28.4%
- Forest lost since 2001
- 22.5 million ha
Average of 99 cities
AQI 103
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Cleaner on average
- At ground stations
- AQI 70
- Tree cover
- 19.4%
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1.56 million ha
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Democratic Republic of the Congo47Nigeria103
Head to head
Democratic Republic of the Congo vs Nigeria at a glance
Democratic Republic of the Congo is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Nigeria on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | Nigeria | |
|---|---|---|
| Average air qualityUS AQI, all measured cities. | 47 (better) | 103 |
| At ground stationsCities with a current station reading. | 77 | 70 (better) |
| Cities over AQI 100Not fine for sensitive groups. | 0% (better) | 39% |
| Forest lost since 2001The whole country. | 22.5 million ha | 1.56 million ha (better) |
| Share of its forest lostOf what it had in 2000. | 11% (better) | 16% |
| Average tree coverAcross its measured cities. | 28.4% (better) | 19.4% |
Air quality today
Is Democratic Republic of the Congo cleaner than Nigeria?
On air quality, yes, right now. Democratic Republic of the Congo has cleaner air than Nigeria right now: its cities average AQI 47 against 103.
At ground stations alone, which measure rather than estimate, the averages are Democratic Republic of the Congo 77 (3 cities) and Nigeria 70 (14 cities), which puts Nigeria ahead instead.
0% of the measured cities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are over AQI 100 today, the point where the air stops being fine for sensitive groups, against 39% in Nigeria.
How each country's cities split across the air quality bands
Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Good24 (63%)
- Moderate14 (37%)
Nigeria
- Good2 (2%)
- Moderate58 (59%)
- Unhealthy for sensitive groups27 (27%)
- Unhealthy11 (11%)
- Very unhealthy1 (1%)
Every measured city, including model estimates where no ground station is near.
Against everywhere else
How do Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria compare with other countries?
Right now the cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo average cleaner air than 58% of the 171 countries Airleaf has enough cities to average, and those of Nigeria than 4%.
Cleaner air than…
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Beats 58%
- Nigeria
- Beats 4%
More tree cover than…
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Beats 64%
- Nigeria
- Beats 39%
Deforestation · 2001–2025
Which country has lost more forest, Democratic Republic of the Congo or Nigeria?
Democratic Republic of the Congo has lost more: about 22.5 million ha of forest from 2001 to 2025, against 1.56 million ha in Nigeria, or 14 times as much. 3.48 million ha of Democratic Republic of the Congo's was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns; the rest burned, was logged or can grow back.
The whole country, from the yearly satellite maps of forest loss: unlike the city averages above, this counts every forest, not just the land around cities.
Worst year: 2017, with 1.47 million ha lost.
Worst year: 2017, with 172,000 ha lost.
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | Nigeria | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 22.5 million ha | 1.56 million ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 11% (better) | 16% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 3.48 million ha | 1.44 million ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Holding steady | Holding steady |
| Main known cause | Shifting farming (82%) | Farms, pasture and plantations (87%) |
Trees
Which country has more tree cover, Democratic Republic of the Congo or Nigeria?
Democratic Republic of the Congo does: its measured cities average 28.4% tree cover against 19.4%, a gap of 9.0 percentage points.
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | Nigeria | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingSummed across measured cities. | 3.2M | 5.8M (better) |
| Cities below their targetShort of the canopy target. | 61% (better) | 83% |
| Trees still neededTo reach those targets. | 1.0M (better) | 5.3M |
Behind the averages
The cities behind Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria
An average says nothing about how far apart the best and worst places are. These are the measured cities at each end.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Nigeria
- Greenest measured city
- Efon-Alaaye76.1% tree cover
- Worst air right now
- IbadanAQI 102
Reading these numbers
What a country average is, and is not
It is a mean of cities
Not a national statistic. Each figure is the average across the cities Airleaf has measured: 38 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and 99 in Nigeria, each read over the same 2 km radius, on the US EPA index. Rural land and unmeasured towns are not in it.
Coverage shapes the number
A country measured mostly in its capital reads differently from one measured across dozens of towns. Nigeria rests on 99 cities against 38, so its average is the steadier of the two. Forest figures come from the University of Maryland's Global Forest Change maps.
Frequently asked
Democratic Republic of the Congo vs Nigeria: your questions answered
Is Democratic Republic of the Congo cleaner than Nigeria?
On air quality, yes, right now: Democratic Republic of the Congo's cities average AQI 47 against 103 on the US EPA index. These are live readings averaged across cities, so the gap moves with the weather. At ground stations alone, which measure rather than estimate, the averages are Democratic Republic of the Congo 77 (3 cities) and Nigeria 70 (14 cities), which puts Nigeria ahead instead.
Which country has lost more forest, Democratic Republic of the Congo or Nigeria?
Democratic Republic of the Congo has lost more: about 22.5 million ha of forest from 2001 to 2025, against 1.56 million ha in Nigeria, or 14 times as much. 3.48 million ha of Democratic Republic of the Congo's was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns; the rest burned, was logged or can grow back.
Which country has more tree cover, Democratic Republic of the Congo or Nigeria?
Democratic Republic of the Congo does: its measured cities average 28.4% tree cover against 19.4%, a gap of 9.0 percentage points.
How many cities are the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria figures based on?
38 measured cities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and 99 in Nigeria. Every one was read the same way, so the two averages are directly comparable, but a country with more measured cities has the more settled figure.
Why are there two air quality averages for each country?
The first covers every measured city, using a ground station where one is close and a model estimate everywhere else. The second counts only cities with a current station reading, which is measured rather than estimated but covers fewer places. Airleaf's world rankings use the station figures only.
Does this cover the whole of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria?
The air and tree figures are not: they are the cities Airleaf has measured, each over the same 2 km radius, so treat them as a comparison of urban air and urban tree cover. The forest figures are: they count every forest in the country.
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