Forest area in Nigeria
Nigeria: Forest area was 8.63 million hectares in 2011. ▼ Falling
Forest area in Nigeria, 1990–2011
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
In 2011, forest area in Nigeria stood at 8.63 million hectares. That is the lowest value across all 22 years on record.
That represents a change of down 4.5% on the previous year and down 32.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in Nigeria peaked at 17.23 million hectares in 1990 and was at its lowest, 8.63 million hectares, in 2011.
That places Nigeria 19th out of 53 countries with data for 2011, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 22 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 15.39 million hectares | 13.55 million hectares | 17.23 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 11.29 million hectares | 9.45 million hectares | 13.14 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.84 million hectares | 8.63 million hectares | 9.04 million hectares | 2 |
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 forest area in Nigeria?
- Forest area in Nigeria was 8.63 million hectares in 2011, according to Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site.
- What is the highest forest area recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 17.23 million hectares in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.63 million hectares in 2011.
- How does Nigeria rank for forest area?
- Nigeria ranks 19th out of 53 countries with data for 2011.
- Is forest area rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 32.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nigeria data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site, published as part of Forest area (hectares). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Forest area is land under natural or planted stands of trees of at least 5 meters in situ, whether productive or not, and excludes tree stands in agricultural production systems (for example, in fruit plantations and agroforestry systems) and trees in urban parks and gardens.