Agricultural land use in Nigeria
Nigeria: Agricultural land use was 69.40 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Agricultural land use in Nigeria, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
The most recent figure for agricultural land use in Nigeria is 69.40 million hectares, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 3.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural land use in Nigeria peaked at 69.40 million hectares in 2023 and was at its lowest, 54.18 million hectares, in 1961.
That places Nigeria 14th out of 226 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 54.60 million hectares | 54.18 million hectares | 54.95 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 55.74 million hectares | 55.15 million hectares | 56.33 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 57.30 million hectares | 56.54 million hectares | 58.10 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 62.49 million hectares | 58.71 million hectares | 65.36 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 66.04 million hectares | 65.51 million hectares | 66.77 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 67.40 million hectares | 66.89 million hectares | 68.22 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 69.05 million hectares | 68.69 million hectares | 69.40 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More agriculture & rural data for Nigeria
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 66.82 billion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 23.0% (2025)
- Rural population 86.04 million (2025)
- Rural population growth -0.1% (2025)
- Rural population 36.2% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.6% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.4% (2024)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 23.0% (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 23.0% (2025)
- Land under cereal production 18.28 million hectares (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural land use in Nigeria?
- Agricultural land use in Nigeria was 69.40 million hectares in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest agricultural land use recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 69.40 million hectares in 2023.
- What is the lowest agricultural land use recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 54.18 million hectares in 1961.
- How does Nigeria rank for agricultural land use?
- Nigeria ranks 14th out of 226 countries with data for 2023.
- Is agricultural land use rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Nigeria data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Agricultural land use. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Land used for cultivation of crops and animal husbandry. The total of areas under cropland and permanent meadows and pastures.