Nigeria's Road Coverage Places It Second Among African Nations

Nigeria boasts the second-largest road network across the African continent, spanning an impressive 195,000 kilometres. This data, released in Global Firepower's 2026 report and reviewed by PUNCH Online on Monday, positions the West African nation at 28th globally for its extensive roadway infrastructure.

Leading the pack in Africa is South Africa, with a massive 750,000km of road coverage. Following Nigeria, Ethiopia secures the third spot on the continent with 180,000km. Kenya is next, registering 161,452km, while the Democratic Republic of Congo takes fifth place with 152,373km. Tanzania is ranked sixth with 145,203km, and Mali follows at seventh with 139,107km. Algeria's network measures 112,696km, placing it eighth, ahead of Zimbabwe with 97,267km, and South Sudan rounding out the top ten with 90,200km.

Global Firepower's 2026 logistics ranking measures the total usable or useful roadway coverage within a country, highlighting infrastructure maturity and its role in providing access to industrial sectors, terminals, and ports.

On the global stage, the United States holds the top position with an astounding 6,586,610km of roads. India comes in second with 6,371,847km, and China is third with 5.2 million kilometres. Brazil occupies fourth place globally with 2 million kilometres, while Russia ranks fifth with 1,283,387km.

South Africa is the only other African country to feature in the global top 20, securing the 11th position with its 750,000km network. Nigeria's 195,000km places it 28th worldwide, ahead of Ethiopia at 30th and Kenya at 32nd. It is important to note that this ranking focuses solely on the length of roadway coverage and does not assess the quality, condition, or proportion of paved roads in each nation.