Share of land area used for agriculture in Nigeria
Nigeria: Share of land area used for agriculture was 76.2% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of land area used for agriculture in Nigeria, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of land area.
Analysis
In 2023, share of land area used for agriculture in Nigeria stood at 76.2%. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 3.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area used for agriculture in Nigeria peaked at 76.2% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 59.5%, in 1961.
That places Nigeria 10th out of 209 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Share of land area used for agriculture in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | % of land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 59.5% | — |
| 1962 | 59.6% | +0.3% |
| 1963 | 59.8% | +0.3% |
| 1964 | 60.0% | +0.3% |
| 1965 | 60.1% | +0.3% |
| 1966 | 60.2% | +0.1% |
| 1967 | 59.9% | -0.5% |
| 1968 | 60.1% | +0.3% |
| 1969 | 60.3% | +0.5% |
| 1970 | 60.6% | +0.4% |
| 1971 | 60.7% | +0.3% |
| 1972 | 60.9% | +0.3% |
| 1973 | 61.0% | +0.3% |
| 1974 | 61.2% | +0.3% |
| 1975 | 61.4% | +0.3% |
| 1976 | 61.5% | +0.3% |
| 1977 | 61.4% | -0.2% |
| 1978 | 61.5% | +0.2% |
| 1979 | 61.9% | +0.5% |
| 1980 | 62.1% | +0.4% |
| 1981 | 62.2% | +0.2% |
| 1982 | 62.3% | +0.2% |
| 1983 | 62.4% | +0.2% |
| 1984 | 62.8% | +0.5% |
| 1985 | 63.1% | +0.5% |
| 1986 | 63.3% | +0.4% |
| 1987 | 63.4% | +0.1% |
| 1988 | 63.6% | +0.3% |
| 1989 | 63.8% | +0.2% |
| 1990 | 64.5% | +1.1% |
| 1991 | 65.3% | +1.2% |
| 1992 | 66.5% | +2.0% |
| 1993 | 66.9% | +0.6% |
| 1994 | 68.0% | +1.6% |
| 1995 | 70.4% | +3.5% |
| 1996 | 70.5% | +0.3% |
| 1997 | 70.7% | +0.2% |
| 1998 | 71.6% | +1.3% |
| 1999 | 71.8% | +0.2% |
| 2000 | 71.9% | +0.2% |
| 2001 | 72.0% | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 72.1% | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 72.3% | +0.2% |
| 2004 | 72.4% | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 72.7% | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 72.5% | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 72.9% | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 72.9% | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 73.3% | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 73.4% | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 73.5% | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 73.8% | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 73.5% | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 73.7% | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 73.9% | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 74.2% | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 74.3% | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 74.7% | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 74.9% | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 75.4% | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 75.7% | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 76.0% | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 76.2% | +0.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 59.9% | 59.5% | 60.3% | 9 |
| 1970s | 61.2% | 60.6% | 61.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 62.9% | 62.1% | 63.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 68.6% | 64.5% | 71.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 72.5% | 71.9% | 73.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 74.0% | 73.4% | 74.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 75.8% | 75.4% | 76.2% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
- 7 Kazakhstan 79.4% compare
- 8 Lesotho 77.8% compare
- 9 Rwanda 76.3% compare
- 11 Republic of Moldova 74.1% compare
- 12 Syrian Arab Republic 74.1% compare
- 13 Djibouti 73.5% compare
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 land area used for agriculture in Nigeria?
- Share of land area used for agriculture in Nigeria was 76.2% in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of land area used for agriculture recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 76.2% in 2023.
- What is the lowest share of land area used for agriculture recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 59.5% in 1961.
- How does Nigeria rank for share of land area used for agriculture?
- Nigeria ranks 10th out of 209 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of land area used for agriculture rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.6%. 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 (FAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of land area used for agriculture. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The share of land area used for agriculture, measured as a percentage of total land area. Agricultural land refers to the share of land area that is arable, under permanent crops, and under permanent pastures.