Rice yields in Nigeria
Nigeria: Rice yields was 2 tonnes per hectare in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
2 tonnes per hectare
Change on year
up 1.1%
World rank
100th
of 124 countries
All-time high
2.39 tonnes per hectare
in 1987
All-time low
0.8926 tonnes per hectare
in 1961
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Rice yields in Nigeria, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes per hectare.
Analysis
In 2024, rice yields in Nigeria stood at 2 tonnes per hectare.
That represents a change of up 1.1% on the previous year and down 7.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rice yields in Nigeria peaked at 2.39 tonnes per hectare in 1987 and was at its lowest, 0.8926 tonnes per hectare, in 1961.
Nigeria ranks 100th of 124 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Rice yields in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | tonnes per hectare | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.8926 tonnes per hectare | — |
| 1962 | 1.18 tonnes per hectare | +32.1% |
| 1963 | 1.2 tonnes per hectare | +2.1% |
| 1964 | 1.23 tonnes per hectare | +2.1% |
| 1965 | 1.23 tonnes per hectare | -0.0% |
| 1966 | 1.24 tonnes per hectare | +1.2% |
| 1967 | 1.47 tonnes per hectare | +18.1% |
| 1968 | 1.5 tonnes per hectare | +2.2% |
| 1969 | 1.26 tonnes per hectare | -16.1% |
| 1970 | 1.35 tonnes per hectare | +6.8% |
| 1971 | 1.28 tonnes per hectare | -5.1% |
| 1972 | 1.89 tonnes per hectare | +47.8% |
| 1973 | 1.31 tonnes per hectare | -30.8% |
| 1974 | 1.95 tonnes per hectare | +49.5% |
| 1975 | 1.93 tonnes per hectare | -1.1% |
| 1976 | 1.27 tonnes per hectare | -34.4% |
| 1977 | 1.66 tonnes per hectare | +30.9% |
| 1978 | 1.76 tonnes per hectare | +6.3% |
| 1979 | 1.88 tonnes per hectare | +6.3% |
| 1980 | 1.98 tonnes per hectare | +5.7% |
| 1981 | 2.07 tonnes per hectare | +4.4% |
| 1982 | 2.08 tonnes per hectare | +0.7% |
| 1983 | 2.03 tonnes per hectare | -2.5% |
| 1984 | 2 tonnes per hectare | -1.6% |
| 1985 | 2.13 tonnes per hectare | +6.7% |
| 1986 | 2.02 tonnes per hectare | -5.2% |
| 1987 | 2.39 tonnes per hectare | +18.1% |
| 1988 | 2 tonnes per hectare | -16.3% |
| 1989 | 2 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 2.07 tonnes per hectare | +3.5% |
| 1991 | 1.95 tonnes per hectare | -5.6% |
| 1992 | 1.96 tonnes per hectare | +0.3% |
| 1993 | 1.96 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 1.42 tonnes per hectare | -27.7% |
| 1995 | 1.63 tonnes per hectare | +14.8% |
| 1996 | 1.75 tonnes per hectare | +7.6% |
| 1997 | 1.6 tonnes per hectare | -8.8% |
| 1998 | 1.6 tonnes per hectare | +0.4% |
| 1999 | 1.5 tonnes per hectare | -6.7% |
| 2000 | 1.5 tonnes per hectare | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 1.3 tonnes per hectare | -13.3% |
| 2002 | 1.34 tonnes per hectare | +3.1% |
| 2003 | 1.41 tonnes per hectare | +5.2% |
| 2004 | 1.42 tonnes per hectare | +0.7% |
| 2005 | 1.43 tonnes per hectare | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 1.48 tonnes per hectare | +3.7% |
| 2007 | 1.3 tonnes per hectare | -12.4% |
| 2008 | 1.75 tonnes per hectare | +35.0% |
| 2009 | 1.93 tonnes per hectare | +10.0% |
| 2010 | 1.84 tonnes per hectare | -4.8% |
| 2011 | 2.03 tonnes per hectare | +10.5% |
| 2012 | 1.9 tonnes per hectare | -6.7% |
| 2013 | 1.98 tonnes per hectare | +4.6% |
| 2014 | 2.16 tonnes per hectare | +8.9% |
| 2015 | 2.07 tonnes per hectare | -4.0% |
| 2016 | 2 tonnes per hectare | -3.4% |
| 2017 | 2.08 tonnes per hectare | +3.9% |
| 2018 | 2.07 tonnes per hectare | -0.7% |
| 2019 | 2.04 tonnes per hectare | -1.1% |
| 2020 | 1.95 tonnes per hectare | -4.7% |
| 2021 | 1.93 tonnes per hectare | -0.9% |
| 2022 | 1.86 tonnes per hectare | -3.9% |
| 2023 | 1.97 tonnes per hectare | +6.3% |
| 2024 | 2 tonnes per hectare | +1.1% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 2 tonnes per hectare is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 3.64 tonnes per hectare, 55% of the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 2 tonnes per hectare is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.08 tonnes per hectare, 96% of the median. (40 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Rice yields in Nigeria changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | +49.5% | 1.31 tonnes per hectare | 1.95 tonnes per hectare |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.25 tonnes per hectare | 0.8926 tonnes per hectare | 1.5 tonnes per hectare | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.63 tonnes per hectare | 1.27 tonnes per hectare | 1.95 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.07 tonnes per hectare | 1.98 tonnes per hectare | 2.39 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.74 tonnes per hectare | 1.42 tonnes per hectare | 2.07 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.49 tonnes per hectare | 1.3 tonnes per hectare | 1.93 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.02 tonnes per hectare | 1.84 tonnes per hectare | 2.16 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.94 tonnes per hectare | 1.86 tonnes per hectare | 2 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 rice yields in Nigeria?
- Rice yields in Nigeria was 2 tonnes per hectare 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 rice yields recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 2.39 tonnes per hectare in 1987.
- What is the lowest rice yields recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.8926 tonnes per hectare in 1961.
- How does Nigeria rank for rice yields?
- Nigeria ranks 100th out of 124 countries with data for 2024.
- Is rice yields rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.6%. 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 Rice yields. 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
Yield is the amount produced per unit of land used, measured in tonnes per hectare.