Arable land — Area in Nigeria
Nigeria: Arable land — Area was 37,184 1000 ha in 2024. ▲ Rising
Arable land — Area in Nigeria, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.
Analysis
In 2024, arable land — area in Nigeria stood at 37,184 1000 ha.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land — area in Nigeria peaked at 38,672 1000 ha in 2017 and was at its lowest, 23,676 1000 ha, in 1961.
Nigeria ranks 12th of 248 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Arable land — Area in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 23,676 1000 ha | — |
| 1962 | 23,823 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1963 | 23,971 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1964 | 24,118 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1965 | 24,265 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1966 | 24,413 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1967 | 24,560 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1968 | 24,708 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1969 | 24,855 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1970 | 25,002 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1971 | 25,150 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1972 | 25,297 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1973 | 25,444 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1974 | 25,592 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1975 | 25,739 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1976 | 25,886 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1977 | 26,034 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1978 | 26,181 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1979 | 26,328 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1980 | 26,476 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1981 | 26,623 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1982 | 26,771 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1983 | 26,918 1000 ha | +0.5% |
| 1984 | 27,065 1000 ha | +0.5% |
| 1985 | 27,213 1000 ha | +0.5% |
| 1986 | 27,360 1000 ha | +0.5% |
| 1987 | 27,482 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1988 | 27,712 1000 ha | +0.8% |
| 1989 | 27,888 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1990 | 28,074 1000 ha | +0.7% |
| 1991 | 29,000 1000 ha | +3.3% |
| 1992 | 30,100 1000 ha | +3.8% |
| 1993 | 30,100 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 31,000 1000 ha | +3.0% |
| 1995 | 32,900 1000 ha | +6.1% |
| 1996 | 33,100 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1997 | 33,200 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 34,000 1000 ha | +2.4% |
| 1999 | 35,000 1000 ha | +2.9% |
| 2000 | 35,000 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 35,651 1000 ha | +1.9% |
| 2002 | 35,688 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 2003 | 35,719 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 2004 | 36,728 1000 ha | +2.8% |
| 2005 | 36,271 1000 ha | -1.2% |
| 2006 | 35,882 1000 ha | -1.1% |
| 2007 | 35,699 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2008 | 36,233 1000 ha | +1.5% |
| 2009 | 36,625 1000 ha | +1.1% |
| 2010 | 36,417 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 2011 | 35,870 1000 ha | -1.5% |
| 2012 | 35,474 1000 ha | -1.1% |
| 2013 | 35,264 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 2014 | 35,952 1000 ha | +2.0% |
| 2015 | 36,771 1000 ha | +2.3% |
| 2016 | 37,684 1000 ha | +2.5% |
| 2017 | 38,672 1000 ha | +2.6% |
| 2018 | 38,570 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 36,881 1000 ha | -4.4% |
| 2020 | 36,092 1000 ha | -2.1% |
| 2021 | 36,013 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2022 | 36,530 1000 ha | +1.4% |
| 2023 | 37,184 1000 ha | +1.8% |
| 2024 | 37,184 1000 ha | +0.0% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 37,184 1000 ha is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1,653 1000 ha, 22.5× the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 37,184 1000 ha is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2,650 1000 ha, 14.0× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 24,265 1000 ha | 23,676 1000 ha | 24,855 1000 ha | 9 |
| 1970s | 25,665 1000 ha | 25,002 1000 ha | 26,328 1000 ha | 10 |
| 1980s | 27,151 1000 ha | 26,476 1000 ha | 27,888 1000 ha | 10 |
| 1990s | 31,647 1000 ha | 28,074 1000 ha | 35,000 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 35,950 1000 ha | 35,000 1000 ha | 36,728 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 36,756 1000 ha | 35,264 1000 ha | 38,672 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 36,601 1000 ha | 36,013 1000 ha | 37,184 1000 ha | 5 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More environment data for Nigeria
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -5.73 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.07 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.281 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.15 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 3.78 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate 0.4617 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is arable land — area in Nigeria?
- Arable land — area in Nigeria was 37,184 1000 ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest arable land — area recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 38,672 1000 ha in 2017.
- What is the lowest arable land — area recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 23,676 1000 ha in 1961.
- How does Nigeria rank for arable land — area?
- Nigeria ranks 12th out of 248 countries with data for 2024.
- Is arable land — area rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.4%. 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, published as part of Arable land — Area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
The FAOSTAT Land Use domain contains data on twenty-one land use categories and twenty-three categories of irrigation and agricultural practices. Data are available yearly and by country, regional and global levels. The domain includes Land Use Indicators providing information on the percentage share of agricultural and forest land, and their sub-components, including irrigated areas and areas under organic agriculture, within a country land use matrix. Data are available at country, regional and global level, for the following elements: (in percentage) i) Share in Land area; ii) Share in Agricultural land, iii) Share in Cropland; and iv) Share in Forest land; (in ha/pc) v) Area per capita.