Change in cereal production, yield, land use and population in Nigeria
Nigeria: Change in cereal production, yield, land use and population was 18.28 million hectares in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
18.28 million hectares
Change on year
up 0.9%
World rank
8th
of 186 countries
All-time high
19.41 million hectares
in 2007
All-time low
4.86 million hectares
in 1981
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Change in cereal production, yield, land use and population in Nigeria, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
In 2024, change in cereal production, yield, land use and population in Nigeria stood at 18.28 million hectares.
The figure is up 0.9% on the previous year and up 7.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, change in cereal production, yield, land use and population in Nigeria peaked at 19.41 million hectares in 2007 and was at its lowest, 4.86 million hectares, in 1981.
Nigeria ranks 8th of 186 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Change in cereal production, yield, land use and population in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 10.62 million hectares | — |
| 1962 | 10.63 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1963 | 10.74 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 1964 | 11.29 million hectares | +5.1% |
| 1965 | 12.24 million hectares | +8.4% |
| 1966 | 10.10 million hectares | -17.5% |
| 1967 | 10.63 million hectares | +5.3% |
| 1968 | 11.04 million hectares | +3.8% |
| 1969 | 14.40 million hectares | +30.4% |
| 1970 | 12.42 million hectares | -13.7% |
| 1971 | 11.74 million hectares | -5.5% |
| 1972 | 8.87 million hectares | -24.4% |
| 1973 | 12.50 million hectares | +41.0% |
| 1974 | 10.32 million hectares | -17.4% |
| 1975 | 8.63 million hectares | -16.4% |
| 1976 | 9.87 million hectares | +14.4% |
| 1977 | 7.46 million hectares | -24.4% |
| 1978 | 6.55 million hectares | -12.1% |
| 1979 | 6.11 million hectares | -6.7% |
| 1980 | 7.17 million hectares | +17.2% |
| 1981 | 4.86 million hectares | -32.1% |
| 1982 | 5.19 million hectares | +6.6% |
| 1983 | 5.79 million hectares | +11.6% |
| 1984 | 8.29 million hectares | +43.4% |
| 1985 | 9.53 million hectares | +14.9% |
| 1986 | 12.68 million hectares | +33.0% |
| 1987 | 13.23 million hectares | +4.4% |
| 1988 | 12.69 million hectares | -4.1% |
| 1989 | 14.37 million hectares | +13.3% |
| 1990 | 15.40 million hectares | +7.1% |
| 1991 | 17.01 million hectares | +10.5% |
| 1992 | 16.84 million hectares | -1.0% |
| 1993 | 17.42 million hectares | +3.5% |
| 1994 | 17.99 million hectares | +3.3% |
| 1995 | 18.60 million hectares | +3.4% |
| 1996 | 17.75 million hectares | -4.5% |
| 1997 | 18.48 million hectares | +4.1% |
| 1998 | 18.34 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 1999 | 18.08 million hectares | -1.4% |
| 2000 | 18.24 million hectares | +0.9% |
| 2001 | 16.29 million hectares | -10.7% |
| 2002 | 17.03 million hectares | +4.5% |
| 2003 | 17.37 million hectares | +2.0% |
| 2004 | 17.72 million hectares | +2.0% |
| 2005 | 18.31 million hectares | +3.4% |
| 2006 | 19.15 million hectares | +4.6% |
| 2007 | 19.41 million hectares | +1.4% |
| 2008 | 18.90 million hectares | -2.6% |
| 2009 | 13.89 million hectares | -26.5% |
| 2010 | 16.13 million hectares | +16.1% |
| 2011 | 15.51 million hectares | -3.8% |
| 2012 | 15.32 million hectares | -1.3% |
| 2013 | 15.89 million hectares | +3.7% |
| 2014 | 16.96 million hectares | +6.8% |
| 2015 | 17.07 million hectares | +0.6% |
| 2016 | 17.24 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 17.99 million hectares | +4.4% |
| 2018 | 18.20 million hectares | +1.1% |
| 2019 | 18.28 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 18.03 million hectares | -1.4% |
| 2021 | 18.41 million hectares | +2.1% |
| 2022 | 18.27 million hectares | -0.8% |
| 2023 | 18.11 million hectares | -0.8% |
| 2024 | 18.28 million hectares | +0.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 11.30 million hectares | 10.10 million hectares | 14.40 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 9.45 million hectares | 6.11 million hectares | 12.50 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 9.38 million hectares | 4.86 million hectares | 14.37 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 17.59 million hectares | 15.40 million hectares | 18.60 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 17.63 million hectares | 13.89 million hectares | 19.41 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 16.86 million hectares | 15.32 million hectares | 18.28 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 18.22 million hectares | 18.03 million hectares | 18.41 million hectares | 5 |
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 change in cereal production, yield, land use and population in Nigeria?
- Change in cereal production, yield, land use and population in Nigeria was 18.28 million hectares in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest change in cereal production, yield, land use and population recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 19.41 million hectares in 2007.
- What is the lowest change in cereal production, yield, land use and population recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.86 million hectares in 1981.
- How does Nigeria rank for change in cereal production, yield, land use and population?
- Nigeria ranks 8th out of 186 countries with data for 2024.
- Is change in cereal production, yield, land use and population rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.7%. 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 Change in cereal production, yield, land use and population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Cereals include wheat, rice, maize, barley, oats, rye, millet, sorghum, buckwheat, and mixed grains.