Share of global plastic waste imports in Nigeria

Nigeria: Share of global plastic waste imports was 0.1% in 2024. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2024)
0.1%
Change on year
down 45.7%
World rank
49th
of 183 countries
All-time high
0.5%
in 2014
All-time low
0.0%
in 2006
Years of data
27
1996–2024

Share of global plastic waste imports in Nigeria, 1996–2024

00.10.20.30.40.51996201020241996: 0.066 %1997: 0.073 %1998: 0.022 %1999: 0.095 %2000: 0.082 %2001: 0.037 %2002: 0.016 %2003: 0.019 %2006: 0.009 %2007: 0.07 %2008: 0.145 %2009: 0.121 %2010: 0.084 %2011: 0.032 %2012: 0.039 %2013: 0.062 %2014: 0.509 %2015: 0.202 %2016: 0.078 %2017: 0.229 %2018: 0.229 %2019: 0.456 %2020: 0.241 %2021: 0.073 %2022: 0.078 %2023: 0.223 %2024: 0.121 %

Source: United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for share of global plastic waste imports in Nigeria is 0.1%, measured in 2024.

That represents a change of down 45.7% on the previous year and down 76.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of global plastic waste imports in Nigeria peaked at 0.5% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 2006.

Nigeria ranks 49th of 183 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

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

Share of global plastic waste imports in Nigeria, year by year

Annual values for Share of global plastic waste imports in Nigeria, 1996 to 2024.
Year % Change
1996 0.1%
1997 0.1% +10.1%
1998 0.0% -70.1%
1999 0.1% +335.9%
2000 0.1% -13.3%
2001 0.0% -55.2%
2002 0.0% -57.9%
2003 0.0% +23.9%
2006 0.0% -54.2%
2007 0.1% +691.8%
2008 0.1% +107.1%
2009 0.1% -16.4%
2010 0.1% -30.4%
2011 0.0% -61.8%
2012 0.0% +22.2%
2013 0.1% +56.6%
2014 0.5% +725.9%
2015 0.2% -60.2%
2016 0.1% -61.7%
2017 0.2% +195.2%
2018 0.2% -0.2%
2019 0.5% +99.6%
2020 0.2% -47.2%
2021 0.1% -69.8%
2022 0.1% +8.0%
2023 0.2% +184.8%
2024 0.1% -45.7%

Nigeria compared with similar countries

  • Nigeria's 0.1% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.0%, 20.3× the median. (45 countries reporting)
  • Nigeria's 0.1% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.0%, 55.2× the median. (41 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Share of global plastic waste imports in Nigeria changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
2014 +725.9% 0.1% 0.5%
2007 +691.8% 0.0% 0.1%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 0.1% 0.0% 0.1% 4
2000s 0.1% 0.0% 0.1% 8
2010s 0.2% 0.0% 0.5% 10
2020s 0.1% 0.1% 0.2% 5

Countries ranked near Nigeria

  1. 46 Kenya 0.1% compare
  2. 47 Sri Lanka 0.1% compare
  3. 48 El Salvador 0.1% compare
  4. 50 Israel 0.1% compare
  5. 51 Ethiopia 0.1% compare
  6. 52 Costa Rica 0.1% compare

See the full ranking of 183 places →

More environment data for Nigeria

All data for Nigeria →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of global plastic waste imports in Nigeria?
Share of global plastic waste imports in Nigeria was 0.1% in 2024, according to United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of global plastic waste imports recorded in Nigeria?
The highest recorded value was 0.5% in 2014.
What is the lowest share of global plastic waste imports recorded in Nigeria?
The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 2006.
How does Nigeria rank for share of global plastic waste imports?
Nigeria ranks 49th out of 183 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of global plastic waste imports rising or falling in Nigeria?
Over the last ten years it is down 76.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Nigeria data come from?
The figures come from United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of global plastic waste imports. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Share of global plastic waste imports in Nigeria. Statizoid, drawing on United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/share-plastic-waste-imports/nigeria/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of global plastic waste imports
Unit
%
Source
United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
183 places, 4,496 data points, 1988–2024
Last refreshed

Percentage of global plastic waste imports that a country accounts for.