What is emissions of air pollutants in Nigeria?

Emissions of air pollutants in Nigeria was 1.02 million tonnes in 2022, according to Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data.

What is the highest emissions of air pollutants recorded in Nigeria?

The highest recorded value was 1.06 million tonnes in 2019.

What is the lowest emissions of air pollutants recorded in Nigeria?

The lowest recorded value was 2,367 tonnes in 1750.

How does Nigeria rank for emissions of air pollutants?

Nigeria ranks 24th out of 220 countries with data for 2022.

Is emissions of air pollutants rising or falling in Nigeria?

Over the last ten years it is up 40.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.

Where does this Nigeria data come from?

The figures come from Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Emissions of air pollutants. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Emissions of air pollutants in Nigeria

Name: Emissions of air pollutants in Nigeria
Creator: Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Nigeria: Emissions of air pollutants was 1.02 million tonnes in 2022. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2022)

1.02 million tonnes

Change on year

up 0.5%

World rank

24th

of 220 countries

All-time high

1.06 million tonnes

in 2019

All-time low

2,367 tonnes

in 1750

Years of data

273

1750–2022

Emissions of air pollutants in Nigeria, 1750–2022

Source: Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.

Analysis

In 2022, emissions of air pollutants in Nigeria stood at 1.02 million tonnes.

The figure is up 0.5% on the previous year and up 40.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, emissions of air pollutants in Nigeria peaked at 1.06 million tonnes in 2019 and was at its lowest, 2,367 tonnes, in 1750.

That places Nigeria 24th out of 220 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1750s	2,370 tonnes	2,367 tonnes	2,373 tonnes	10
1760s	2,377 tonnes	2,373 tonnes	2,380 tonnes	10
1770s	2,383 tonnes	2,380 tonnes	2,386 tonnes	10
1780s	2,390 tonnes	2,387 tonnes	2,393 tonnes	10
1790s	2,396 tonnes	2,394 tonnes	2,399 tonnes	10
1800s	2,418 tonnes	2,400 tonnes	2,437 tonnes	10
1810s	2,465 tonnes	2,441 tonnes	2,489 tonnes	10
1820s	2,518 tonnes	2,494 tonnes	2,543 tonnes	10
1830s	2,573 tonnes	2,548 tonnes	2,597 tonnes	10
1840s	2,627 tonnes	2,603 tonnes	2,652 tonnes	10
1850s	2,718 tonnes	2,653 tonnes	2,785 tonnes	10
1860s	2,897 tonnes	2,799 tonnes	2,994 tonnes	10
1870s	3,189 tonnes	3,016 tonnes	3,364 tonnes	10
1880s	3,594 tonnes	3,403 tonnes	3,791 tonnes	10
1890s	4,053 tonnes	3,836 tonnes	4,276 tonnes	10
1900s	5,672 tonnes	4,327 tonnes	7,080 tonnes	10
1910s	9,825 tonnes	7,412 tonnes	12,578 tonnes	10
1920s	17,021 tonnes	13,363 tonnes	21,079 tonnes	10
1930s	25,896 tonnes	21,920 tonnes	30,176 tonnes	10
1940s	36,962 tonnes	31,125 tonnes	42,309 tonnes	10
1950s	59,062 tonnes	50,850 tonnes	69,376 tonnes	10
1960s	95,084 tonnes	70,807 tonnes	126,487 tonnes	10
1970s	217,679 tonnes	131,635 tonnes	320,312 tonnes	10
1980s	375,903 tonnes	347,415 tonnes	399,140 tonnes	10
1990s	475,599 tonnes	376,280 tonnes	537,941 tonnes	10
2000s	630,834 tonnes	548,148 tonnes	671,745 tonnes	10
2010s	894,193 tonnes	710,831 tonnes	1.06 million tonnes	10
2020s	996,878 tonnes	954,645 tonnes	1.02 million tonnes	3

Countries ranked near Nigeria

21 Netherlands 1.09 million tonnes compare
22 Bangladesh 1.06 million tonnes compare
23 Australia 1.04 million tonnes compare
25 Germany 986,642 tonnes compare
26 Turkey 934,732 tonnes compare
27 Kazakhstan 928,518 tonnes compare

See the full ranking of 220 places →

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)

All data for Nigeria →

Frequently asked questions

What is emissions of air pollutants in Nigeria?: Emissions of air pollutants in Nigeria was 1.02 million tonnes in 2022, according to Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest emissions of air pollutants recorded in Nigeria?: The highest recorded value was 1.06 million tonnes in 2019.
What is the lowest emissions of air pollutants recorded in Nigeria?: The lowest recorded value was 2,367 tonnes in 1750.
How does Nigeria rank for emissions of air pollutants?: Nigeria ranks 24th out of 220 countries with data for 2022.
Is emissions of air pollutants rising or falling in Nigeria?: Over the last ten years it is up 40.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Nigeria data come from?: The figures come from Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Emissions of air pollutants. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 273 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator: Emissions of air pollutants
Unit: tonnes
Source: Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 220 places, 60,060 data points, 1750–2022
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Nitrogen oxides (NOₓ) are gases that are mainly formed during the burning of fossil fuels. Exposure to NOₓ gases can have negative impacts on respiratory health. NOₓ gases can also lead to the formation of ozone – another air pollutant.