Is agricultural land expanding? Change over the prior decade in Nigeria
Nigeria: Is agricultural land expanding? Change over the prior decade was 3.6% in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Is agricultural land expanding? Change over the prior decade in Nigeria, 1971–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Nigeria recorded 3.6% for is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade in 2023.
That represents a change of up 20.2% on the previous year and up 107.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade in Nigeria peaked at 12.5% in 1998 and was at its lowest, 1.7%, in 2015.
That places Nigeria 43rd out of 225 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Is agricultural land expanding? Change over the prior decade in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 2.1% | — |
| 1972 | 2.1% | -0.3% |
| 1973 | 2.1% | -0.4% |
| 1974 | 2.1% | -0.2% |
| 1975 | 2.1% | -0.3% |
| 1976 | 2.2% | +8.7% |
| 1977 | 2.5% | +11.4% |
| 1978 | 2.4% | -3.2% |
| 1979 | 2.5% | +4.2% |
| 1980 | 2.5% | +0.5% |
| 1981 | 2.4% | -3.1% |
| 1982 | 2.4% | -3.1% |
| 1983 | 2.3% | -3.2% |
| 1984 | 2.6% | +12.2% |
| 1985 | 2.9% | +11.0% |
| 1986 | 3.0% | +3.6% |
| 1987 | 3.3% | +12.5% |
| 1988 | 3.5% | +4.3% |
| 1989 | 3.1% | -9.3% |
| 1990 | 3.8% | +22.4% |
| 1991 | 4.9% | +28.0% |
| 1992 | 6.8% | +37.5% |
| 1993 | 7.2% | +6.4% |
| 1994 | 8.3% | +15.4% |
| 1995 | 11.5% | +38.3% |
| 1996 | 11.4% | -1.1% |
| 1997 | 11.5% | +1.0% |
| 1998 | 12.5% | +9.0% |
| 1999 | 12.5% | -0.1% |
| 2000 | 11.6% | -7.4% |
| 2001 | 10.3% | -10.8% |
| 2002 | 8.4% | -18.3% |
| 2003 | 8.0% | -5.0% |
| 2004 | 6.5% | -18.5% |
| 2005 | 3.3% | -49.5% |
| 2006 | 2.8% | -15.6% |
| 2007 | 3.0% | +9.0% |
| 2008 | 1.9% | -38.9% |
| 2009 | 2.2% | +16.3% |
| 2010 | 2.1% | -2.2% |
| 2011 | 2.1% | -1.4% |
| 2012 | 2.2% | +7.5% |
| 2013 | 1.7% | -22.1% |
| 2014 | 1.8% | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 1.7% | -2.3% |
| 2016 | 2.3% | +33.2% |
| 2017 | 2.0% | -11.0% |
| 2018 | 2.5% | +22.0% |
| 2019 | 2.2% | -12.3% |
| 2020 | 2.7% | +23.8% |
| 2021 | 3.0% | +9.9% |
| 2022 | 3.0% | +1.3% |
| 2023 | 3.6% | +20.2% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 3.6% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1.1%, 3.2× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 3.6% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.9%, 4.0× the median. (46 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2.2% | 2.1% | 2.5% | 9 |
| 1980s | 2.8% | 2.3% | 3.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 9.0% | 3.8% | 12.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.8% | 1.9% | 11.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.1% | 1.7% | 2.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.1% | 2.7% | 3.6% | 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 is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade in Nigeria?
- Is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade in Nigeria was 3.6% 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 is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 12.5% in 1998.
- What is the lowest is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.7% in 2015.
- How does Nigeria rank for is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade?
- Nigeria ranks 43rd out of 225 countries with data for 2023.
- Is is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 107.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- 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 Is agricultural land expanding? Change over the prior decade. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Percentage change in surface area devoted to agriculture with respect to 10 years before. Negative values imply that surface area has decreased with respect to the previous decade. This data is used to assess which countries may have already peaked in their agricultural land use.