This is a dataset on concentrations and export of all nitrogen compounds in rivers and streams in sub-Saharan Africa reported in scientific literature (n=254) until July 2024. Data are aggregated by site and, where possible, data are reported for the dry and wet season separately. In addition to concentrations and export of nitrogen compounds, data on ancillary parameters, such as pH, electrical conductivity and dissolved oxygen area also included. Each site for which (approximate) coordinates could be extracted from the original study was assigned to a land cover class based on open source data on tree cover and the extent of cropland, settlement and wetlands across Africa (see second tab in the file 'Dataset.xlsx' for land cover classes and corresponding classification conditions as well as data sources). The third tab in the file 'Dataset.xlsx' contains links to the individual studies and full references are provided in the file 'Reference list.pdf'.