Naturally regenerating forest — Area in Nigeria
Nigeria: Naturally regenerating forest — Area was 14,472 1000 ha in 2025. ▼ Falling
Naturally regenerating forest — Area in Nigeria, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.
Analysis
In 2025, naturally regenerating forest — area in Nigeria stood at 14,472 1000 ha. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.
That represents a change of down 1.1% on the previous year and down 9.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, naturally regenerating forest — area in Nigeria peaked at 19,959 1000 ha in 1990 and was at its lowest, 14,472 1000 ha, in 2025.
Nigeria ranks 48th of 240 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.
Naturally regenerating forest — Area in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 19,959 1000 ha | — |
| 1991 | 19,802 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 1992 | 19,645 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 1993 | 19,488 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 1994 | 19,332 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 1995 | 19,175 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 1996 | 19,018 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 1997 | 18,861 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 1998 | 18,705 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 1999 | 18,548 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 2000 | 18,391 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 2001 | 18,234 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 2002 | 18,078 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 2003 | 17,921 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 2004 | 17,764 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 2005 | 17,607 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 2006 | 17,451 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 2007 | 17,294 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 2008 | 17,137 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 2009 | 16,980 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 2010 | 16,824 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 2011 | 16,667 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 2012 | 16,510 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 2013 | 16,353 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 2014 | 16,196 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2015 | 16,040 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2016 | 15,883 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2017 | 15,726 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2018 | 15,569 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2019 | 15,413 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2020 | 15,256 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2021 | 15,099 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2022 | 14,942 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2023 | 14,786 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2024 | 14,629 1000 ha | -1.1% |
| 2025 | 14,472 1000 ha | -1.1% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 14,472 1000 ha is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 3,066 1000 ha, 4.7× the median. (43 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 14,472 1000 ha is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3,761 1000 ha, 3.8× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 19,253 1000 ha | 18,548 1000 ha | 19,959 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 17,686 1000 ha | 16,980 1000 ha | 18,391 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 16,118 1000 ha | 15,413 1000 ha | 16,824 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 14,864 1000 ha | 14,472 1000 ha | 15,256 1000 ha | 6 |
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 naturally regenerating forest — area in Nigeria?
- Naturally regenerating forest — area in Nigeria was 14,472 1000 ha in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest naturally regenerating forest — area recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 19,959 1000 ha in 1990.
- What is the lowest naturally regenerating forest — area recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 14,472 1000 ha in 2025.
- How does Nigeria rank for naturally regenerating forest — area?
- Nigeria ranks 48th out of 240 countries with data for 2025.
- Is naturally regenerating forest — area rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.8%. 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, published as part of Naturally regenerating forest — Area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
The FAOSTAT Land Use domain contains data on twenty-one land use categories and twenty-three categories of irrigation and agricultural practices. Data are available yearly and by country, regional and global levels. The domain includes Land Use Indicators providing information on the percentage share of agricultural and forest land, and their sub-components, including irrigated areas and areas under organic agriculture, within a country land use matrix. Data are available at country, regional and global level, for the following elements: (in percentage) i) Share in Land area; ii) Share in Agricultural land, iii) Share in Cropland; and iv) Share in Forest land; (in ha/pc) v) Area per capita.