Corn: Yield gap in Nigeria
Nigeria: Corn: Yield gap was 1.42 tonnes per hectare in 2024. ▼ Falling
Corn: Yield gap in Nigeria, 2000–2024
Source: Mueller et al. (2012); USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) (2026); Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes per hectare.
Analysis
Nigeria recorded 1.42 tonnes per hectare for corn: yield gap in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 6.0% on the previous year and down 18.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, corn: yield gap in Nigeria peaked at 2.15 tonnes per hectare in 2000 and was at its lowest, 1.22 tonnes per hectare, in 2022.
Nigeria ranks 70th of 115 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Corn: Yield gap in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | tonnes per hectare | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 2.15 tonnes per hectare | — |
| 2001 | 2.05 tonnes per hectare | -4.6% |
| 2002 | 1.96 tonnes per hectare | -4.4% |
| 2003 | 1.95 tonnes per hectare | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 1.85 tonnes per hectare | -5.1% |
| 2005 | 1.79 tonnes per hectare | -3.2% |
| 2006 | 1.63 tonnes per hectare | -8.8% |
| 2007 | 1.75 tonnes per hectare | +6.9% |
| 2008 | 1.49 tonnes per hectare | -14.5% |
| 2009 | 1.25 tonnes per hectare | -16.0% |
| 2010 | 1.6 tonnes per hectare | +27.6% |
| 2011 | 1.82 tonnes per hectare | +13.9% |
| 2012 | 1.94 tonnes per hectare | +6.3% |
| 2013 | 1.99 tonnes per hectare | +2.6% |
| 2014 | 1.75 tonnes per hectare | -12.0% |
| 2015 | 1.73 tonnes per hectare | -1.1% |
| 2016 | 1.67 tonnes per hectare | -3.7% |
| 2017 | 1.79 tonnes per hectare | +7.2% |
| 2018 | 1.78 tonnes per hectare | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 1.59 tonnes per hectare | -10.4% |
| 2020 | 1.4 tonnes per hectare | -12.1% |
| 2021 | 1.4 tonnes per hectare | -0.2% |
| 2022 | 1.22 tonnes per hectare | -12.8% |
| 2023 | 1.51 tonnes per hectare | +24.1% |
| 2024 | 1.42 tonnes per hectare | -6.0% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 1.42 tonnes per hectare is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 2.37 tonnes per hectare, 60% of the median. (31 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 1.42 tonnes per hectare is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.47 tonnes per hectare, 58% of the median. (31 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.79 tonnes per hectare | 1.25 tonnes per hectare | 2.15 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.77 tonnes per hectare | 1.59 tonnes per hectare | 1.99 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.39 tonnes per hectare | 1.22 tonnes per hectare | 1.51 tonnes per hectare | 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 corn: yield gap in Nigeria?
- Corn: yield gap in Nigeria was 1.42 tonnes per hectare in 2024, according to Mueller et al. (2012); USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) (2026); Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest corn: yield gap recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 2.15 tonnes per hectare in 2000.
- What is the lowest corn: yield gap recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.22 tonnes per hectare in 2022.
- How does Nigeria rank for corn: yield gap?
- Nigeria ranks 70th out of 115 countries with data for 2024.
- Is corn: yield gap rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 18.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nigeria data come from?
- The figures come from Mueller et al. (2012); USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) (2026); Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Corn: Yield gap. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Yield gaps are the difference between attainable yields and actual yields, measured in tonnes per hectare. Negative values have been replaced by zero, meaning that the attainable yield has been reached.