Nigeria's Oil Production Rank Debunked

A social media post has gone viral claiming Nigeria is the 5th largest oil producer globally. However, FactCheckHub investigated this claim and found it to be false.

The post was made in response to a previous post that expressed shock over Nigerians living in Iraq. The verified X user @Mr_Kyalo_ claimed that Nigeria's status as a major oil producer does not justify its socio-economic conditions, citing poverty and citizens working abroad.

To verify the claim, FactCheckHub consulted the Statistical Review of World Energy, which shows that in 2025, the top two oil producers were the US (889.9 million tonnes) and Saudi Arabia (535.8 million tonnes). Nigeria produced 84.0 million tonnes of oil in 2025, ranking it around 14th globally.

The review distinguishes between oil production and reserves, noting that having large reserves does not necessarily mean a country produces the most oil. The data from the review is based on 2025 figures, which shows Nigeria's position well outside the top five.