Share of cereals allocated to human food vs. GDP per capita in Nigeria
Nigeria: Share of cereals allocated to human food vs. GDP per capita was 86.3% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of cereals allocated to human food vs. GDP per capita in Nigeria, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita in Nigeria is 86.3%, measured in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.7% on the previous year and down 6.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita in Nigeria peaked at 92.3% in 2013 and was at its lowest, 78.2%, in 1965.
Nigeria ranks 49th of 192 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Share of cereals allocated to human food vs. GDP per capita in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 80.5% | — |
| 1962 | 81.0% | +0.7% |
| 1963 | 80.4% | -0.8% |
| 1964 | 80.4% | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 78.2% | -2.7% |
| 1966 | 80.7% | +3.2% |
| 1967 | 81.1% | +0.5% |
| 1968 | 80.5% | -0.7% |
| 1969 | 79.2% | -1.6% |
| 1970 | 79.7% | +0.6% |
| 1971 | 80.5% | +0.9% |
| 1972 | 82.4% | +2.4% |
| 1973 | 82.5% | +0.1% |
| 1974 | 80.8% | -2.0% |
| 1975 | 81.5% | +0.8% |
| 1976 | 82.6% | +1.4% |
| 1977 | 84.8% | +2.6% |
| 1978 | 86.6% | +2.2% |
| 1979 | 86.0% | -0.7% |
| 1980 | 86.0% | -0.1% |
| 1981 | 86.1% | +0.2% |
| 1982 | 85.4% | -0.8% |
| 1983 | 84.9% | -0.6% |
| 1984 | 84.3% | -0.7% |
| 1985 | 83.9% | -0.5% |
| 1986 | 81.3% | -3.1% |
| 1987 | 79.3% | -2.4% |
| 1988 | 79.0% | -0.4% |
| 1989 | 79.7% | +0.9% |
| 1990 | 79.3% | -0.5% |
| 1991 | 79.9% | +0.7% |
| 1992 | 80.1% | +0.2% |
| 1993 | 80.0% | -0.1% |
| 1994 | 79.2% | -1.1% |
| 1995 | 79.1% | -0.1% |
| 1996 | 80.8% | +2.2% |
| 1997 | 81.7% | +1.2% |
| 1998 | 82.1% | +0.4% |
| 1999 | 81.9% | -0.2% |
| 2000 | 83.6% | +2.0% |
| 2001 | 83.5% | -0.1% |
| 2002 | 83.1% | -0.4% |
| 2003 | 82.7% | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 81.3% | -1.7% |
| 2005 | 80.7% | -0.8% |
| 2006 | 78.7% | -2.4% |
| 2007 | 81.7% | +3.7% |
| 2008 | 80.7% | -1.2% |
| 2009 | 84.4% | +4.5% |
| 2010 | 89.9% | +6.6% |
| 2011 | 87.5% | -2.7% |
| 2012 | 88.0% | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 92.3% | +4.8% |
| 2014 | 87.0% | -5.7% |
| 2015 | 86.9% | -0.1% |
| 2016 | 86.5% | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 86.1% | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 87.2% | +1.4% |
| 2019 | 84.0% | -3.7% |
| 2020 | 85.8% | +2.1% |
| 2021 | 84.9% | -1.0% |
| 2022 | 84.0% | -1.1% |
| 2023 | 86.3% | +2.7% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 86.3% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 75.2%, 1.1× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 86.3% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 88.3%, 98% of the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 80.2% | 78.2% | 81.1% | 9 |
| 1970s | 82.7% | 79.7% | 86.6% | 10 |
| 1980s | 83.0% | 79.0% | 86.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 80.4% | 79.1% | 82.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 82.1% | 78.7% | 84.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 87.5% | 84.0% | 92.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 85.2% | 84.0% | 86.3% | 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 share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita in Nigeria?
- Share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita in Nigeria was 86.3% 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 share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 92.3% in 2013.
- What is the lowest share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 78.2% in 1965.
- How does Nigeria rank for share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita?
- Nigeria ranks 49th out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.5%. 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 Share of cereals allocated to human food vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Share of domestic cereal supply allocated to direct human food, rather than animal feed or biofuels. GDP is adjusted for inflation and differences in living costs across countries.