Sorghum yields in Nigeria
Nigeria: Sorghum yields was 1.07 tonnes per hectare in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
1.07 tonnes per hectare
Change on year
down 5.1%
World rank
79th
of 115 countries
All-time high
1.63 tonnes per hectare
in 1982
All-time low
0.5241 tonnes per hectare
in 1969
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Sorghum 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
Nigeria recorded 1.07 tonnes per hectare for sorghum yields in 2024.
That represents a change of down 5.1% on the previous year and down 11.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, sorghum yields in Nigeria peaked at 1.63 tonnes per hectare in 1982 and was at its lowest, 0.5241 tonnes per hectare, in 1969.
Nigeria ranks 79th of 115 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Sorghum yields in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | tonnes per hectare | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.8497 tonnes per hectare | — |
| 1962 | 0.9426 tonnes per hectare | +10.9% |
| 1963 | 0.7757 tonnes per hectare | -17.7% |
| 1964 | 0.7646 tonnes per hectare | -1.4% |
| 1965 | 0.7133 tonnes per hectare | -6.7% |
| 1966 | 0.6806 tonnes per hectare | -4.6% |
| 1967 | 0.7157 tonnes per hectare | +5.2% |
| 1968 | 0.6298 tonnes per hectare | -12.0% |
| 1969 | 0.5241 tonnes per hectare | -16.8% |
| 1970 | 0.7091 tonnes per hectare | +35.3% |
| 1971 | 0.7043 tonnes per hectare | -0.7% |
| 1972 | 0.6062 tonnes per hectare | -13.9% |
| 1973 | 0.6012 tonnes per hectare | -0.8% |
| 1974 | 1.02 tonnes per hectare | +69.2% |
| 1975 | 1.07 tonnes per hectare | +5.2% |
| 1976 | 0.6089 tonnes per hectare | -43.1% |
| 1977 | 0.9443 tonnes per hectare | +55.1% |
| 1978 | 0.7017 tonnes per hectare | -25.7% |
| 1979 | 1.04 tonnes per hectare | +48.4% |
| 1980 | 1.12 tonnes per hectare | +7.8% |
| 1981 | 1.62 tonnes per hectare | +44.3% |
| 1982 | 1.63 tonnes per hectare | +0.8% |
| 1983 | 1.62 tonnes per hectare | -0.8% |
| 1984 | 1.04 tonnes per hectare | -35.5% |
| 1985 | 1.01 tonnes per hectare | -3.3% |
| 1986 | 1.05 tonnes per hectare | +4.3% |
| 1987 | 1.06 tonnes per hectare | +0.9% |
| 1988 | 1.08 tonnes per hectare | +2.1% |
| 1989 | 0.9752 tonnes per hectare | -10.1% |
| 1990 | 1 tonnes per hectare | +2.5% |
| 1991 | 0.9691 tonnes per hectare | -3.1% |
| 1992 | 1.08 tonnes per hectare | +11.4% |
| 1993 | 1.08 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 1.08 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 1.15 tonnes per hectare | +6.3% |
| 1996 | 1.14 tonnes per hectare | -0.3% |
| 1997 | 1.11 tonnes per hectare | -3.2% |
| 1998 | 1.13 tonnes per hectare | +2.3% |
| 1999 | 1.13 tonnes per hectare | -0.6% |
| 2000 | 1.12 tonnes per hectare | -0.5% |
| 2001 | 1.1 tonnes per hectare | -1.8% |
| 2002 | 1.1 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 1.16 tonnes per hectare | +5.1% |
| 2004 | 1.22 tonnes per hectare | +5.5% |
| 2005 | 1.26 tonnes per hectare | +3.3% |
| 2006 | 1.35 tonnes per hectare | +7.1% |
| 2007 | 1.16 tonnes per hectare | -14.1% |
| 2008 | 1.22 tonnes per hectare | +5.5% |
| 2009 | 1.11 tonnes per hectare | -8.9% |
| 2010 | 1.44 tonnes per hectare | +29.2% |
| 2011 | 1.22 tonnes per hectare | -15.2% |
| 2012 | 1.14 tonnes per hectare | -6.2% |
| 2013 | 0.9727 tonnes per hectare | -15.0% |
| 2014 | 1.21 tonnes per hectare | +24.1% |
| 2015 | 1.19 tonnes per hectare | -1.6% |
| 2016 | 1.38 tonnes per hectare | +16.3% |
| 2017 | 1.19 tonnes per hectare | -13.7% |
| 2018 | 1.21 tonnes per hectare | +1.3% |
| 2019 | 1.23 tonnes per hectare | +2.2% |
| 2020 | 1.14 tonnes per hectare | -8.0% |
| 2021 | 1.13 tonnes per hectare | -0.2% |
| 2022 | 1.19 tonnes per hectare | +5.3% |
| 2023 | 1.12 tonnes per hectare | -5.9% |
| 2024 | 1.07 tonnes per hectare | -5.1% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 1.07 tonnes per hectare is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1.09 tonnes per hectare, 98% of the median. (35 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 1.07 tonnes per hectare is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.9424 tonnes per hectare, 1.1× the median. (39 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Sorghum 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 | +69.2% | 0.6012 tonnes per hectare | 1.02 tonnes per hectare |
| 1977 | +55.1% | 0.6089 tonnes per hectare | 0.9443 tonnes per hectare |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.7329 tonnes per hectare | 0.5241 tonnes per hectare | 0.9426 tonnes per hectare | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.8005 tonnes per hectare | 0.6012 tonnes per hectare | 1.07 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.22 tonnes per hectare | 0.9752 tonnes per hectare | 1.63 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.09 tonnes per hectare | 0.9691 tonnes per hectare | 1.15 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.18 tonnes per hectare | 1.1 tonnes per hectare | 1.35 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.22 tonnes per hectare | 0.9727 tonnes per hectare | 1.44 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.13 tonnes per hectare | 1.07 tonnes per hectare | 1.19 tonnes per hectare | 5 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
- 76 Honduras 1.09 tonnes per hectare compare
- 77 Kazakhstan 1.08 tonnes per hectare compare
- 78 Tanzania 1.07 tonnes per hectare compare
- 80 Malawi 1.05 tonnes per hectare compare
- 81 Burkina Faso 1 tonnes per hectare compare
- 81 Eswatini 1 tonnes per hectare compare
- 81 Sierra Leone 1 tonnes per hectare compare
- 81 Taiwan 1 tonnes per hectare 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 sorghum yields in Nigeria?
- Sorghum yields in Nigeria was 1.07 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 sorghum yields recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 1.63 tonnes per hectare in 1982.
- What is the lowest sorghum yields recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5241 tonnes per hectare in 1969.
- How does Nigeria rank for sorghum yields?
- Nigeria ranks 79th out of 115 countries with data for 2024.
- Is sorghum yields rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 11.7%. 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 Sorghum 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.