Arable land use per person in Nigeria
Nigeria: Arable land use per person was 0.1618 hectares per person in 2023. ▼ Falling
Arable land use per person 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 hectares per person.
Analysis
Nigeria recorded 0.1618 hectares per person for arable land use per person in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
That represents a change of down 2.1% on the previous year and down 18.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land use per person in Nigeria peaked at 0.5148 hectares per person in 1961 and was at its lowest, 0.1618 hectares per person, in 2023.
That places Nigeria 77th out of 206 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.4847 hectares per person | 0.455 hectares per person | 0.5148 hectares per person | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.4093 hectares per person | 0.3682 hectares per person | 0.4473 hectares per person | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.325 hectares per person | 0.295 hectares per person | 0.3589 hectares per person | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.2888 hectares per person | 0.2837 hectares per person | 0.2969 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.2509 hectares per person | 0.2275 hectares per person | 0.2769 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.1931 hectares per person | 0.176 hectares per person | 0.2157 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.167 hectares per person | 0.1618 hectares per person | 0.1723 hectares per person | 4 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More environment data for Nigeria
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 350.56 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 1.51 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 56.75 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 8.67 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 75.63 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.1661 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 175.13 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0267 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.5526 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 33.33 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is arable land use per person in Nigeria?
- Arable land use per person in Nigeria was 0.1618 hectares per person 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 arable land use per person recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 0.5148 hectares per person in 1961.
- What is the lowest arable land use per person recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1618 hectares per person in 2023.
- How does Nigeria rank for arable land use per person?
- Nigeria ranks 77th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is arable land use per person rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 18.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- 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 Arable land use per person. 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
Arable land is defined by the FAO as land under temporary crops, temporary meadows for mowing or for pasture, land under market or kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow. It is measured in hectares per person.