Agricultural land — Area in Africa
Africa: Agricultural land — Area was 1.19 million 1000 ha in 2024. ▲ Rising
Agricultural land — Area in Africa, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.
Analysis
Africa recorded 1.19 million 1000 ha for agricultural land — area in 2024. That is the highest value across all 64 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and up 2.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural land — area in Africa peaked at 1.19 million 1000 ha in 2024 and was at its lowest, 1.02 million 1000 ha, in 1962.
That places Africa 4th out of 32 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Agricultural land — Area in Africa, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1.02 million 1000 ha | — |
| 1962 | 1.02 million 1000 ha | -0.0% |
| 1963 | 1.02 million 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 1964 | 1.02 million 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 1.02 million 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 1966 | 1.02 million 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 1967 | 1.02 million 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 1968 | 1.03 million 1000 ha | +0.2% |
| 1969 | 1.03 million 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 1970 | 1.03 million 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 1971 | 1.03 million 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1972 | 1.03 million 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 1973 | 1.03 million 1000 ha | -0.0% |
| 1974 | 1.03 million 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 1.04 million 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 1976 | 1.04 million 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 1977 | 1.04 million 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 1978 | 1.04 million 1000 ha | +0.2% |
| 1979 | 1.04 million 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 1980 | 1.04 million 1000 ha | +0.2% |
| 1981 | 1.04 million 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 1982 | 1.04 million 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 1983 | 1.04 million 1000 ha | +0.2% |
| 1984 | 1.04 million 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 1985 | 1.05 million 1000 ha | +0.5% |
| 1986 | 1.05 million 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1987 | 1.06 million 1000 ha | +0.2% |
| 1988 | 1.06 million 1000 ha | +0.5% |
| 1989 | 1.06 million 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 1990 | 1.07 million 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 1991 | 1.07 million 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 1992 | 1.08 million 1000 ha | +0.5% |
| 1993 | 1.06 million 1000 ha | -1.1% |
| 1994 | 1.07 million 1000 ha | +0.5% |
| 1995 | 1.08 million 1000 ha | +0.8% |
| 1996 | 1.08 million 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1997 | 1.09 million 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 1.09 million 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 1999 | 1.09 million 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 1.10 million 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 1.10 million 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 1.10 million 1000 ha | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 1.11 million 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 2004 | 1.11 million 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 1.12 million 1000 ha | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 1.12 million 1000 ha | +0.2% |
| 2007 | 1.13 million 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 1.13 million 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 1.13 million 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 1.14 million 1000 ha | +0.8% |
| 2011 | 1.14 million 1000 ha | +0.2% |
| 2012 | 1.15 million 1000 ha | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 1.15 million 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 1.16 million 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 1.16 million 1000 ha | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 1.17 million 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 1.17 million 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 1.18 million 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 1.17 million 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 1.18 million 1000 ha | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 1.18 million 1000 ha | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 1.18 million 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 1.18 million 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 1.19 million 1000 ha | +0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.02 million 1000 ha | 1.02 million 1000 ha | 1.03 million 1000 ha | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.04 million 1000 ha | 1.03 million 1000 ha | 1.04 million 1000 ha | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.05 million 1000 ha | 1.04 million 1000 ha | 1.06 million 1000 ha | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.08 million 1000 ha | 1.06 million 1000 ha | 1.09 million 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.12 million 1000 ha | 1.10 million 1000 ha | 1.13 million 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.16 million 1000 ha | 1.14 million 1000 ha | 1.18 million 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.18 million 1000 ha | 1.18 million 1000 ha | 1.19 million 1000 ha | 5 |
Countries ranked near Africa
- 1 OECD 1.16 million 1000 ha compare
- 2 USSR 555,420 1000 ha compare
- 3 United States 421,540 1000 ha compare
- 4 China 392,604 1000 ha compare
- 5 China, mainland 391,823 1000 ha compare
- 6 Australia and New Zealand 373,213 1000 ha compare
- 7 Australia 363,519 1000 ha compare
More environment data for Africa
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -7.12 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -7.93 Percentage change (2025)
- Temperature change 1.32 °C (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.213 °C (2025)
- Other industrial roundwood, non-coniferous (production) — Production 26.92 million m3 (2024)
- Primary wood and paper products (export/import) — Import value 11.21 million 1000 USD (2024)
- Industrial roundwood, non-coniferous — Production 66.41 million m3 (2024)
- Sawlogs and veneer logs — Production 39.12 million m3 (2024)
- Sawlogs and veneer logs, coniferous — Production 9.31 million m3 (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural land — area in Africa?
- Agricultural land — area in Africa was 1.19 million 1000 ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest agricultural land — area recorded in Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 1.19 million 1000 ha in 2024.
- What is the lowest agricultural land — area recorded in Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.02 million 1000 ha in 1962.
- How does Africa rank for agricultural land — area?
- Africa ranks 4th out of 32 groups with data for 2024.
- Is agricultural land — area rising or falling in Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Agricultural land — Area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
The FAOSTAT Land Use domain contains data on twenty-one land use categories and twenty-three categories of irrigation and agricultural practices. Data are available yearly and by country, regional and global levels. The domain includes Land Use Indicators providing information on the percentage share of agricultural and forest land, and their sub-components, including irrigated areas and areas under organic agriculture, within a country land use matrix. Data are available at country, regional and global level, for the following elements: (in percentage) i) Share in Land area; ii) Share in Agricultural land, iii) Share in Cropland; and iv) Share in Forest land; (in ha/pc) v) Area per capita.