Forest area as share of land area in Nigeria

Nigeria: Forest area as share of land area was 18.81 in 2025. β–Ό Falling

Latest (2025)
18.81
Change on year
down 0.7%
World rank
136th
of 216 countries
All-time high
23.68
in 1990
All-time low
18.81
in 2025
Years of data
36
1990–2025

Forest area as share of land area in Nigeria, 1990–2025

05101520251990200720251990: 23.71991: 23.51992: 23.41993: 23.31994: 23.11995: 231996: 22.81997: 22.71998: 22.61999: 22.42000: 22.32001: 22.22002: 222003: 21.92004: 21.72005: 21.62006: 21.52007: 21.32008: 21.22009: 212010: 20.92011: 20.82012: 20.62013: 20.52014: 20.32015: 20.22016: 20.12017: 19.92018: 19.82019: 19.62020: 19.52021: 19.42022: 19.22023: 19.12024: 18.92025: 18.8

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

The most recent figure for forest area as share of land area in Nigeria is 18.81, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.7% on the previous year and down 6.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, forest area as share of land area in Nigeria peaked at 23.68 in 1990 and was at its lowest, 18.81, in 2025.

That places Nigeria 136th out of 216 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 23.06 22.43 23.68 10
2000s 21.66 21.04 22.29 10
2010s 20.27 19.64 20.9 10
2020s 19.16 18.81 19.5 6

Countries ranked near Nigeria

  1. 133 Guinea 19.77 compare
  2. 134 Mauritius 19.17 compare
  3. 135 South Africa 18.86 compare
  4. 137 Cyprus 18.58 compare
  5. 138 Comoros, Union of the 17.93 compare
  6. 139 Antigua and Barbuda 17.7 compare

See the full ranking of 216 places β†’

More environment data for Nigeria

All data for Nigeria β†’

Frequently asked questions

What is forest area as share of land area in Nigeria?
Forest area as share of land area in Nigeria was 18.81 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest forest area as share of land area recorded in Nigeria?
The highest recorded value was 23.68 in 1990.
What is the lowest forest area as share of land area recorded in Nigeria?
The lowest recorded value was 18.81 in 2025.
How does Nigeria rank for forest area as share of land area?
Nigeria ranks 136th out of 216 countries with data for 2025.
Is forest area as share of land area rising or falling in Nigeria?
Over the last ten years it is down 6.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Nigeria data come from?
The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Forest area as share of land area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV Β· JSON β€” 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Forest area as share of land area in Nigeria. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 19 August 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/forest-area-as-share-of-land-area/nigeria/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/forest-area-as-share-of-land-area/nigeria/">Forest area as share of land area in Nigeria</a> β€” Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Forest area as share of land area
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
216 places, 7,823 data points, 1000–2025
Last refreshed