Agricultural land — Area in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Agricultural land — Area was 966,886 1000 ha in 2024. ▲ Rising
Agricultural land — Area in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.
Analysis
Sub-Saharan Africa recorded 966,886 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 0.2% on the previous year and up 2.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural land — area in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 966,886 1000 ha in 2024 and was at its lowest, 815,452 1000 ha, in 1962.
Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 6th of 32 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Agricultural land — Area in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 815,479 1000 ha | — |
| 1962 | 815,452 1000 ha | -0.0% |
| 1963 | 816,235 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 1964 | 816,127 1000 ha | -0.0% |
| 1965 | 816,145 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 816,506 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 816,593 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 817,984 1000 ha | +0.2% |
| 1969 | 818,782 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 1970 | 818,988 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 820,851 1000 ha | +0.2% |
| 1972 | 821,562 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 1973 | 821,917 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 821,685 1000 ha | -0.0% |
| 1975 | 822,966 1000 ha | +0.2% |
| 1976 | 823,687 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 1977 | 824,169 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 1978 | 825,730 1000 ha | +0.2% |
| 1979 | 826,315 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 1980 | 827,421 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 1981 | 828,652 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 1982 | 829,550 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 1983 | 830,909 1000 ha | +0.2% |
| 1984 | 831,833 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 1985 | 835,044 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1986 | 836,861 1000 ha | +0.2% |
| 1987 | 837,109 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 838,869 1000 ha | +0.2% |
| 1989 | 840,056 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 1990 | 842,648 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 1991 | 845,467 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 1992 | 849,216 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1993 | 834,856 1000 ha | -1.7% |
| 1994 | 838,000 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 844,368 1000 ha | +0.8% |
| 1996 | 847,758 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1997 | 850,528 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 853,028 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 1999 | 857,718 1000 ha | +0.5% |
| 2000 | 860,799 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 863,503 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 865,497 1000 ha | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 869,702 1000 ha | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 872,673 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 879,917 1000 ha | +0.8% |
| 2006 | 881,402 1000 ha | +0.2% |
| 2007 | 884,887 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 887,742 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 890,375 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 899,122 1000 ha | +1.0% |
| 2011 | 901,201 1000 ha | +0.2% |
| 2012 | 932,768 1000 ha | +3.5% |
| 2013 | 936,634 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 940,616 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 945,752 1000 ha | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 948,052 1000 ha | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 952,297 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 956,812 1000 ha | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 956,462 1000 ha | -0.0% |
| 2020 | 958,527 1000 ha | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 961,048 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 963,861 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 965,245 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 966,886 1000 ha | +0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 816,589 1000 ha | 815,452 1000 ha | 818,782 1000 ha | 9 |
| 1970s | 822,787 1000 ha | 818,988 1000 ha | 826,315 1000 ha | 10 |
| 1980s | 833,630 1000 ha | 827,421 1000 ha | 840,056 1000 ha | 10 |
| 1990s | 846,359 1000 ha | 834,856 1000 ha | 857,718 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 875,650 1000 ha | 860,799 1000 ha | 890,375 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 936,972 1000 ha | 899,122 1000 ha | 956,812 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 963,113 1000 ha | 958,527 1000 ha | 966,886 1000 ha | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
- 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
- 8 Brazil 237,091 1000 ha compare
- 9 Russian Federation 215,712 1000 ha compare
- 9 Russia 215,712 1000 ha compare
More environment data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -7.11 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -6.36 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.223 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.21 °C (2025)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 305.43 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Aquaculture production 904,662 metric tons (2024)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 2.29 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Transport (Energy) 2.96 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Permanent meadows and pastures — Share in Agricultural land 72.81 % (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural land — area in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Agricultural land — area in Sub-Saharan Africa was 966,886 1000 ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest agricultural land — area recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 966,886 1000 ha in 2024.
- What is the lowest agricultural land — area recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 815,452 1000 ha in 1962.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for agricultural land — area?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 6th out of 32 groups with data for 2024.
- Is agricultural land — area rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan 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
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
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.