Land use for palm oil production in Nigeria
Nigeria: Land use for palm oil production was 4.49 million hectares in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
4.49 million hectares
Change on year
down 0.5%
World rank
3rd
of 44 countries
All-time high
4.51 million hectares
in 2023
All-time low
1.90 million hectares
in 1983
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Land use for palm oil production in Nigeria, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
The most recent figure for land use for palm oil production in Nigeria is 4.49 million hectares, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.5% on the previous year and up 44.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use for palm oil production in Nigeria peaked at 4.51 million hectares in 2023 and was at its lowest, 1.90 million hectares, in 1983.
That places Nigeria 3rd out of 44 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Land use for palm oil production in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 2.70 million hectares | — |
| 1962 | 2.50 million hectares | -7.4% |
| 1963 | 2.60 million hectares | +4.0% |
| 1964 | 2.60 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 2.70 million hectares | +3.8% |
| 1966 | 2.60 million hectares | -3.7% |
| 1967 | 2.10 million hectares | -19.2% |
| 1968 | 2.10 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 2.20 million hectares | +4.8% |
| 1970 | 2.15 million hectares | -2.3% |
| 1971 | 2.15 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 2.00 million hectares | -7.0% |
| 1973 | 2.00 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 2.15 million hectares | +7.5% |
| 1975 | 2.10 million hectares | -2.3% |
| 1976 | 2.10 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 2.15 million hectares | +2.4% |
| 1978 | 2.00 million hectares | -7.0% |
| 1979 | 2.30 million hectares | +15.0% |
| 1980 | 2.30 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 2.00 million hectares | -13.0% |
| 1982 | 2.00 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 1.90 million hectares | -5.0% |
| 1984 | 2.20 million hectares | +15.8% |
| 1985 | 2.20 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 2.22 million hectares | +0.9% |
| 1987 | 2.30 million hectares | +3.6% |
| 1988 | 2.25 million hectares | -2.2% |
| 1989 | 2.26 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1990 | 2.30 million hectares | +1.8% |
| 1991 | 2.45 million hectares | +6.5% |
| 1992 | 2.55 million hectares | +4.1% |
| 1993 | 2.70 million hectares | +5.9% |
| 1994 | 2.75 million hectares | +1.9% |
| 1995 | 2.94 million hectares | +6.8% |
| 1996 | 2.95 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1997 | 2.95 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 2.95 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 3.00 million hectares | +1.7% |
| 2000 | 3.08 million hectares | +2.7% |
| 2001 | 3.18 million hectares | +3.2% |
| 2002 | 3.18 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 3.30 million hectares | +3.8% |
| 2004 | 3.32 million hectares | +0.6% |
| 2005 | 3.35 million hectares | +0.9% |
| 2006 | 3.08 million hectares | -8.2% |
| 2007 | 3.15 million hectares | +2.4% |
| 2008 | 3.20 million hectares | +1.6% |
| 2009 | 3.20 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 3.20 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 3.20 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 3.25 million hectares | +1.6% |
| 2013 | 3.00 million hectares | -7.7% |
| 2014 | 3.11 million hectares | +3.8% |
| 2015 | 3.23 million hectares | +3.7% |
| 2016 | 3.31 million hectares | +2.6% |
| 2017 | 3.55 million hectares | +7.0% |
| 2018 | 3.74 million hectares | +5.4% |
| 2019 | 3.81 million hectares | +2.0% |
| 2020 | 3.89 million hectares | +2.2% |
| 2021 | 4.09 million hectares | +5.0% |
| 2022 | 4.32 million hectares | +5.7% |
| 2023 | 4.51 million hectares | +4.4% |
| 2024 | 4.49 million hectares | -0.5% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 4.49 million hectares is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 41,858 hectares, 107.2× the median. (18 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 4.49 million hectares is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 18,156 hectares, 247.2× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.46 million hectares | 2.10 million hectares | 2.70 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.11 million hectares | 2.00 million hectares | 2.30 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.16 million hectares | 1.90 million hectares | 2.30 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.75 million hectares | 2.30 million hectares | 3.00 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.20 million hectares | 3.08 million hectares | 3.35 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.34 million hectares | 3.00 million hectares | 3.81 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.26 million hectares | 3.89 million hectares | 4.51 million hectares | 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 land use for palm oil production in Nigeria?
- Land use for palm oil production in Nigeria was 4.49 million hectares in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest land use for palm oil production recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 4.51 million hectares in 2023.
- What is the lowest land use for palm oil production recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.90 million hectares in 1983.
- How does Nigeria rank for land use for palm oil production?
- Nigeria ranks 3rd out of 44 countries with data for 2024.
- Is land use for palm oil production rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 44.1%. 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 Land use for palm oil production. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).