FAO projections of arable land in Nigeria
Nigeria: FAO projections of arable land was 44.23 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
44.23 million hectares
Change on year
up 0.5%
World rank
7th
of 224 countries
All-time high
44.23 million hectares
in 2023
All-time low
27.18 million hectares
in 1961
Years of data
63
1961–2023
FAO projections of arable land in Nigeria, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Nigeria recorded 44.23 million hectares for fao projections of arable land in 2023. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.5% on the previous year and up 5.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, fao projections of arable land in Nigeria peaked at 44.23 million hectares in 2023 and was at its lowest, 27.18 million hectares, in 1961.
Nigeria ranks 7th of 224 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
FAO projections of arable land in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 27.18 million hectares | — |
| 1962 | 27.32 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1963 | 27.47 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1964 | 27.62 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1965 | 27.77 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1966 | 27.81 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1967 | 27.56 million hectares | -0.9% |
| 1968 | 27.71 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1969 | 27.95 million hectares | +0.9% |
| 1970 | 28.15 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 1971 | 28.30 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1972 | 28.45 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1973 | 28.59 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1974 | 28.74 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1975 | 28.89 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1976 | 29.04 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1977 | 29.23 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 1978 | 29.38 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1979 | 29.73 million hectares | +1.2% |
| 1980 | 29.98 million hectares | +0.8% |
| 1981 | 30.12 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1982 | 30.27 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1983 | 30.42 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1984 | 30.77 million hectares | +1.1% |
| 1985 | 31.11 million hectares | +1.1% |
| 1986 | 31.36 million hectares | +0.8% |
| 1987 | 31.48 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1988 | 31.71 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 1989 | 31.89 million hectares | +0.6% |
| 1990 | 32.07 million hectares | +0.6% |
| 1991 | 33.30 million hectares | +3.8% |
| 1992 | 34.50 million hectares | +3.6% |
| 1993 | 34.90 million hectares | +1.2% |
| 1994 | 35.90 million hectares | +2.9% |
| 1995 | 38.10 million hectares | +6.1% |
| 1996 | 38.30 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1997 | 38.50 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1998 | 39.35 million hectares | +2.2% |
| 1999 | 40.50 million hectares | +2.9% |
| 2000 | 40.80 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 2001 | 41.55 million hectares | +1.9% |
| 2002 | 41.69 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 41.80 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 41.91 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 42.12 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 41.85 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 2007 | 42.05 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 42.10 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 43.30 million hectares | +2.8% |
| 2010 | 42.33 million hectares | -2.2% |
| 2011 | 42.26 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 2012 | 42.38 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 42.08 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2014 | 42.09 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 42.19 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 42.27 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 42.43 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 42.90 million hectares | +1.1% |
| 2019 | 43.35 million hectares | +1.1% |
| 2020 | 43.67 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 43.74 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 44.02 million hectares | +0.6% |
| 2023 | 44.23 million hectares | +0.5% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 44.23 million hectares is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 2.82 million hectares, 15.7× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 44.23 million hectares is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.21 million hectares, 13.8× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 27.60 million hectares | 27.18 million hectares | 27.95 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 28.85 million hectares | 28.15 million hectares | 29.73 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 30.91 million hectares | 29.98 million hectares | 31.89 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 36.54 million hectares | 32.07 million hectares | 40.50 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 41.92 million hectares | 40.80 million hectares | 43.30 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 42.43 million hectares | 42.08 million hectares | 43.35 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 43.91 million hectares | 43.67 million hectares | 44.23 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More reference data data for Nigeria
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.77 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 19.51 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 27 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 27 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 5.94 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 5.8 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 81.9 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 121.16 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 14.27 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is fao projections of arable land in Nigeria?
- Fao projections of arable land in Nigeria was 44.23 million hectares in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest fao projections of arable land recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 44.23 million hectares in 2023.
- What is the lowest fao projections of arable land recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 27.18 million hectares in 1961.
- How does Nigeria rank for fao projections of arable land?
- Nigeria ranks 7th out of 224 countries with data for 2023.
- Is fao projections of arable land rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.1%. 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 FAO projections of arable land. 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
Land allocated to arable production or permanent crops, measured in hectares. Values from 2030 onwards are FAO's 2018 projections under three different scenarios.