Agricultural land use in Nigeria
Nigeria: Agricultural land use was 69.40 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
69.40 million hectares
Change on year
up 0.3%
World rank
15th
of 227 countries
All-time high
69.40 million hectares
in 2023
All-time low
54.18 million hectares
in 1961
Years of data
63
1961–2023
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 15th out of 227 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.
Agricultural land use in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 54.18 million hectares | — |
| 1962 | 54.32 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1963 | 54.47 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1964 | 54.62 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1965 | 54.77 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1966 | 54.81 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1967 | 54.56 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 1968 | 54.71 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1969 | 54.95 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1970 | 55.15 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1971 | 55.30 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1972 | 55.45 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1973 | 55.59 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1974 | 55.74 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1975 | 55.89 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1976 | 56.04 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1977 | 55.92 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1978 | 56.02 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1979 | 56.33 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1980 | 56.54 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1981 | 56.65 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1982 | 56.76 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1983 | 56.87 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1984 | 57.17 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1985 | 57.48 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1986 | 57.69 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1987 | 57.77 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1988 | 57.96 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1989 | 58.10 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1990 | 58.71 million hectares | +1.1% |
| 1991 | 59.44 million hectares | +1.2% |
| 1992 | 60.60 million hectares | +2.0% |
| 1993 | 60.96 million hectares | +0.6% |
| 1994 | 61.92 million hectares | +1.6% |
| 1995 | 64.08 million hectares | +3.5% |
| 1996 | 64.24 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1997 | 64.40 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1998 | 65.21 million hectares | +1.3% |
| 1999 | 65.36 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2000 | 65.51 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2001 | 65.57 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 65.71 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 65.84 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2004 | 65.96 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 66.19 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 66.03 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 66.36 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 66.42 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 66.77 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 66.89 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 66.93 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 67.17 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 66.99 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 67.12 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 67.33 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 67.54 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 67.70 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 68.07 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 68.22 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 68.69 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 68.91 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 69.19 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 69.40 million hectares | +0.3% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 69.40 million hectares is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 9.40 million hectares, 7.4× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 69.40 million hectares is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 13.51 million hectares, 5.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)
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 (current US$), annual 2.38 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.2298 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 281.32 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.1218 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0003 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3622 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 23.0% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 23.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.4% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.6% (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 15th out of 227 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.