Forest area km in Nigeria
Nigeria: Forest area km was 17.13 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
17.13 million
Change on year
down 0.7%
World rank
39th
of 235 countries
All-time high
21.57 million
in 1990
All-time low
17.13 million
in 2025
Years of data
36
1990–2025
Forest area km in Nigeria, 1990–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
Nigeria recorded 17.13 million for forest area km 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 km in Nigeria peaked at 21.57 million in 1990 and was at its lowest, 17.13 million, in 2025.
Nigeria ranks 39th of 235 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.
Forest area km in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 21.57 million | — |
| 1991 | 21.44 million | -0.6% |
| 1992 | 21.32 million | -0.6% |
| 1993 | 21.19 million | -0.6% |
| 1994 | 21.06 million | -0.6% |
| 1995 | 20.94 million | -0.6% |
| 1996 | 20.81 million | -0.6% |
| 1997 | 20.68 million | -0.6% |
| 1998 | 20.56 million | -0.6% |
| 1999 | 20.43 million | -0.6% |
| 2000 | 20.30 million | -0.6% |
| 2001 | 20.18 million | -0.6% |
| 2002 | 20.05 million | -0.6% |
| 2003 | 19.92 million | -0.6% |
| 2004 | 19.79 million | -0.6% |
| 2005 | 19.67 million | -0.6% |
| 2006 | 19.54 million | -0.6% |
| 2007 | 19.41 million | -0.6% |
| 2008 | 19.29 million | -0.7% |
| 2009 | 19.16 million | -0.7% |
| 2010 | 19.03 million | -0.7% |
| 2011 | 18.91 million | -0.7% |
| 2012 | 18.78 million | -0.7% |
| 2013 | 18.65 million | -0.7% |
| 2014 | 18.53 million | -0.7% |
| 2015 | 18.40 million | -0.7% |
| 2016 | 18.27 million | -0.7% |
| 2017 | 18.14 million | -0.7% |
| 2018 | 18.02 million | -0.7% |
| 2019 | 17.89 million | -0.7% |
| 2020 | 17.76 million | -0.7% |
| 2021 | 17.64 million | -0.7% |
| 2022 | 17.51 million | -0.7% |
| 2023 | 17.38 million | -0.7% |
| 2024 | 17.26 million | -0.7% |
| 2025 | 17.13 million | -0.7% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 17.13 million is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 3.89 million, 4.4× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 17.13 million is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.37 million, 3.9× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 21.00 million | 20.43 million | 21.57 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 19.73 million | 19.16 million | 20.30 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 18.46 million | 17.89 million | 19.03 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 17.45 million | 17.13 million | 17.76 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More environment data for Nigeria
- Grazing land use over the long-term, annual growth rate -0.1455 % change on previous year (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0.0001 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per capita 0.1055 hectares per person (2025)
- 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)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per square kilometre 27.55 hectares per square kilometre (2024)
- Sawnwood, coniferous — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest area km in Nigeria?
- Forest area km in Nigeria was 17.13 million in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest forest area km recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 21.57 million in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest area km recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.13 million in 2025.
- How does Nigeria rank for forest area km?
- Nigeria ranks 39th out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forest area km 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 km. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).