Agricultural land — Share in Land area in Western Africa
Western Africa: Agricultural land — Share in Land area was 49.21 % in 2024. ▲ Rising
Agricultural land — Share in Land area in Western Africa, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, agricultural land — share in land area in Western Africa stood at 49.21 %. That is the highest value across all 64 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 4.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural land — share in land area in Western Africa peaked at 49.21 % in 2024 and was at its lowest, 37.77 %, in 1961.
Western Africa ranks 9th of 31 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Agricultural land — Share in Land area in Western Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 37.77 % | — |
| 1962 | 37.82 % | +0.1% |
| 1963 | 37.87 % | +0.1% |
| 1964 | 37.91 % | +0.1% |
| 1965 | 37.97 % | +0.2% |
| 1966 | 37.99 % | +0.1% |
| 1967 | 37.99 % | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 38.17 % | +0.5% |
| 1969 | 38.19 % | +0.1% |
| 1970 | 38.07 % | -0.3% |
| 1971 | 38.1 % | +0.1% |
| 1972 | 38.12 % | +0.1% |
| 1973 | 38.13 % | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 38.03 % | -0.3% |
| 1975 | 38.11 % | +0.2% |
| 1976 | 38.19 % | +0.2% |
| 1977 | 38.18 % | -0.0% |
| 1978 | 38.26 % | +0.2% |
| 1979 | 38.36 % | +0.3% |
| 1980 | 38.54 % | +0.5% |
| 1981 | 38.52 % | -0.1% |
| 1982 | 38.62 % | +0.3% |
| 1983 | 38.75 % | +0.3% |
| 1984 | 38.89 % | +0.4% |
| 1985 | 39.06 % | +0.4% |
| 1986 | 39.21 % | +0.4% |
| 1987 | 39.24 % | +0.1% |
| 1988 | 39.45 % | +0.5% |
| 1989 | 39.47 % | +0.1% |
| 1990 | 39.99 % | +1.3% |
| 1991 | 40.23 % | +0.6% |
| 1992 | 40.63 % | +1.0% |
| 1993 | 41.04 % | +1.0% |
| 1994 | 41.32 % | +0.7% |
| 1995 | 42.13 % | +2.0% |
| 1996 | 42.56 % | +1.0% |
| 1997 | 42.7 % | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 42.85 % | +0.4% |
| 1999 | 43.21 % | +0.8% |
| 2000 | 43.37 % | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 43.54 % | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 43.81 % | +0.6% |
| 2003 | 44.1 % | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 44.2 % | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 45.15 % | +2.1% |
| 2006 | 45.11 % | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 45.4 % | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 45.65 % | +0.6% |
| 2009 | 45.72 % | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 46.08 % | +0.8% |
| 2011 | 46.09 % | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 46.38 % | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 46.67 % | +0.6% |
| 2014 | 46.98 % | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 47.65 % | +1.4% |
| 2016 | 47.77 % | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 48.17 % | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 48.62 % | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 48.34 % | -0.6% |
| 2020 | 48.45 % | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 48.72 % | +0.6% |
| 2022 | 48.98 % | +0.5% |
| 2023 | 49.06 % | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 49.21 % | +0.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 37.96 % | 37.77 % | 38.19 % | 9 |
| 1970s | 38.16 % | 38.03 % | 38.36 % | 10 |
| 1980s | 38.98 % | 38.52 % | 39.47 % | 10 |
| 1990s | 41.67 % | 39.99 % | 43.21 % | 10 |
| 2000s | 44.61 % | 43.37 % | 45.72 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 47.27 % | 46.08 % | 48.62 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 48.88 % | 48.45 % | 49.21 % | 5 |
Countries ranked near Western Africa
- 6 Saudi Arabia 81.68 % compare
- 7 Uganda 80.28 % compare
- 8 South Africa 79.42 % compare
- 9 Kazakhstan 79.19 % compare
- 10 Comoros 78.91 % compare
- 11 Nigeria 77.09 % compare
- 12 Gambia 76.12 % compare
More environment data for Western Africa
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -6.69 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -6.59 Percentage change (2025)
- Temperature change 1.37 °C (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.311 °C (2025)
- Industrial roundwood — Import value 18,051 1000 USD (2024)
- Wood fuel — Production 221.11 million m3 (2024)
- Wood fuel, coniferous — Production 0 m3 (2024)
- Wood fuel, non-coniferous — Production 221.11 million m3 (2024)
- Industrial roundwood — Production 20.68 million m3 (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural land — share in land area in Western Africa?
- Agricultural land — share in land area in Western Africa was 49.21 % in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest agricultural land — share in land area recorded in Western Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 49.21 % in 2024.
- What is the lowest agricultural land — share in land area recorded in Western Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 37.77 % in 1961.
- How does Western Africa rank for agricultural land — share in land area?
- Western Africa ranks 9th out of 31 groups with data for 2024.
- Is agricultural land — share in land area rising or falling in Western Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Western Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Agricultural land — Share in 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.