Arable land in Nigeria
Nigeria: Arable land was 0.1618 hectares per person in 2023. ▼ Falling
Arable land in Nigeria, 1961–2023
Source: FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in hectares per person.
Analysis
The most recent figure for arable land in Nigeria is 0.1618 hectares per person, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.1% on the previous year and down 18.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land in Nigeria peaked at 0.5148 hectares per person in 1961 and was at its lowest, 0.1618 hectares per person, in 2023.
That places Nigeria 77th out of 206 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.4847 hectares per person | 0.455 hectares per person | 0.5148 hectares per person | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.4093 hectares per person | 0.3682 hectares per person | 0.4473 hectares per person | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.325 hectares per person | 0.295 hectares per person | 0.3589 hectares per person | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.2888 hectares per person | 0.2837 hectares per person | 0.2969 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.2509 hectares per person | 0.2275 hectares per person | 0.2769 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.1931 hectares per person | 0.176 hectares per person | 0.2157 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.167 hectares per person | 0.1618 hectares per person | 0.1723 hectares per person | 4 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More agriculture & rural data for Nigeria
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.4% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.6% (2024)
- Rural population 36.2% (2025)
- Rural population growth -0.1% (2025)
- Rural population 86.04 million (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 23.0% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 66.82 billion current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 18.28 million hectares (2024)
- Cereal yield 1,558 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal production 28.47 million metric tons (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is arable land in Nigeria?
- Arable land in Nigeria was 0.1618 hectares per person in 2023, according to FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
- What is the highest arable land recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 0.5148 hectares per person in 1961.
- What is the lowest arable land recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1618 hectares per person in 2023.
- How does Nigeria rank for arable land?
- Nigeria ranks 77th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is arable land rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 18.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nigeria data come from?
- The figures come from FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), published as part of Arable land (hectares per person). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Arable land (hectares per person) includes land defined by the FAO as land under temporary crops (double-cropped areas are counted once), temporary meadows for mowing or for pasture, land under market or kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow. Land abandoned as a result of shifting cultivation is excluded.