Oil palm production in Nigeria
Nigeria: Oil palm production was 1.46 million tonnes in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
1.46 million tonnes
Change on year
up 2.8%
World rank
5th
of 48 countries
All-time high
1.56 million tonnes
in 2018
All-time low
430,000 tonnes
in 1973
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Oil palm production in Nigeria, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
In 2023, oil palm production in Nigeria stood at 1.46 million tonnes.
The figure is up 2.8% on the previous year and up 65.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, oil palm production in Nigeria peaked at 1.56 million tonnes in 2018 and was at its lowest, 430,000 tonnes, in 1973.
Nigeria ranks 5th of 48 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Oil palm production in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 669,000 tonnes | — |
| 1962 | 640,000 tonnes | -4.3% |
| 1963 | 657,000 tonnes | +2.7% |
| 1964 | 676,000 tonnes | +2.9% |
| 1965 | 687,000 tonnes | +1.6% |
| 1966 | 713,000 tonnes | +3.8% |
| 1967 | 601,000 tonnes | -15.7% |
| 1968 | 599,000 tonnes | -0.3% |
| 1969 | 621,000 tonnes | +3.7% |
| 1970 | 488,000 tonnes | -21.4% |
| 1971 | 500,000 tonnes | +2.5% |
| 1972 | 460,000 tonnes | -8.0% |
| 1973 | 430,000 tonnes | -6.5% |
| 1974 | 485,000 tonnes | +12.8% |
| 1975 | 500,000 tonnes | +3.1% |
| 1976 | 525,000 tonnes | +5.0% |
| 1977 | 528,000 tonnes | +0.6% |
| 1978 | 530,000 tonnes | +0.4% |
| 1979 | 650,000 tonnes | +22.6% |
| 1980 | 650,000 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 530,000 tonnes | -18.5% |
| 1982 | 500,000 tonnes | -5.7% |
| 1983 | 500,000 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 500,000 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 615,000 tonnes | +23.0% |
| 1986 | 650,000 tonnes | +5.7% |
| 1987 | 715,000 tonnes | +10.0% |
| 1988 | 700,000 tonnes | -2.1% |
| 1989 | 700,000 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 730,000 tonnes | +4.3% |
| 1991 | 760,000 tonnes | +4.1% |
| 1992 | 792,000 tonnes | +4.2% |
| 1993 | 825,000 tonnes | +4.2% |
| 1994 | 837,000 tonnes | +1.5% |
| 1995 | 860,000 tonnes | +2.7% |
| 1996 | 776,000 tonnes | -9.8% |
| 1997 | 810,000 tonnes | +4.4% |
| 1998 | 845,000 tonnes | +4.3% |
| 1999 | 896,000 tonnes | +6.0% |
| 2000 | 899,000 tonnes | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 903,000 tonnes | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 961,000 tonnes | +6.4% |
| 2003 | 1.02 million tonnes | +6.3% |
| 2004 | 1.09 million tonnes | +7.0% |
| 2005 | 1.17 million tonnes | +6.9% |
| 2006 | 1.29 million tonnes | +10.0% |
| 2007 | 1.31 million tonnes | +1.7% |
| 2008 | 1.33 million tonnes | +1.6% |
| 2009 | 1.23 million tonnes | -7.3% |
| 2010 | 970,820 tonnes | -21.3% |
| 2011 | 930,000 tonnes | -4.2% |
| 2012 | 940,000 tonnes | +1.1% |
| 2013 | 880,000 tonnes | -6.4% |
| 2014 | 1.35 million tonnes | +53.4% |
| 2015 | 1.43 million tonnes | +6.1% |
| 2016 | 960,000 tonnes | -33.0% |
| 2017 | 1.53 million tonnes | +59.3% |
| 2018 | 1.56 million tonnes | +2.3% |
| 2019 | 1.22 million tonnes | -22.0% |
| 2020 | 1.28 million tonnes | +4.9% |
| 2021 | 1.35 million tonnes | +5.5% |
| 2022 | 1.42 million tonnes | +5.2% |
| 2023 | 1.46 million tonnes | +2.8% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 1.46 million tonnes is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 100,000 tonnes, 14.6× the median. (19 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 1.46 million tonnes is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 36,308 tonnes, 40.2× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Oil palm production 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.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | +59.3% | 960,000 tonnes | 1.53 million tonnes |
| 2014 | +53.4% | 880,000 tonnes | 1.35 million tonnes |
| 2016 | -33.0% | 1.43 million tonnes | 960,000 tonnes |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 651,444 tonnes | 599,000 tonnes | 713,000 tonnes | 9 |
| 1970s | 509,600 tonnes | 430,000 tonnes | 650,000 tonnes | 10 |
| 1980s | 606,000 tonnes | 500,000 tonnes | 715,000 tonnes | 10 |
| 1990s | 813,100 tonnes | 730,000 tonnes | 896,000 tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.12 million tonnes | 899,000 tonnes | 1.33 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.18 million tonnes | 880,000 tonnes | 1.56 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.38 million tonnes | 1.28 million tonnes | 1.46 million tonnes | 4 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More energy & mining data for Nigeria
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary energy use, annual growth rate 2.96 % change on previous year (2024)
- Coal consumption, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Coal consumption, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary energy use, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary energy use, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Coal production, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Coal production, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Fuel imports 38.0% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is oil palm production in Nigeria?
- Oil palm production in Nigeria was 1.46 million tonnes in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest oil palm production recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 1.56 million tonnes in 2018.
- What is the lowest oil palm production recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 430,000 tonnes in 1973.
- How does Nigeria rank for oil palm production?
- Nigeria ranks 5th out of 48 countries with data for 2023.
- Is oil palm production rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 65.9%. 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 Oil palm production. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Oil palm production is measured in tonnes.