Arable land — Area, per square kilometre in Malawi
Malawi: Arable land — Area, per square kilometre was 0.0424 1000 ha per square kilometre in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
0.0424 1000 ha per square kilometre
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
11th
of 184 countries
All-time high
0.0424 1000 ha per square kilometre
in 2021
All-time low
0.0138 1000 ha per square kilometre
in 1961
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Arable land — Area, per square kilometre in Malawi, 1961–2023
Source: Statizoid (derived). Measured in 1000 ha per square kilometre.
Analysis
The most recent figure for arable land — area, per square kilometre in Malawi is 0.0424 1000 ha per square kilometre, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
That represents a change of up 12.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land — area, per square kilometre in Malawi peaked at 0.0424 1000 ha per square kilometre in 2021 and was at its lowest, 0.0138 1000 ha per square kilometre, in 1961.
Malawi ranks 11th of 184 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Arable land — Area, per square kilometre in Malawi, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha per square kilometre | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.0138 1000 ha per square kilometre | — |
| 1962 | 0.0148 1000 ha per square kilometre | +7.7% |
| 1963 | 0.0154 1000 ha per square kilometre | +3.6% |
| 1964 | 0.0159 1000 ha per square kilometre | +3.4% |
| 1965 | 0.018 1000 ha per square kilometre | +13.3% |
| 1966 | 0.0186 1000 ha per square kilometre | +2.9% |
| 1967 | 0.018 1000 ha per square kilometre | -2.9% |
| 1968 | 0.0191 1000 ha per square kilometre | +5.9% |
| 1969 | 0.0196 1000 ha per square kilometre | +2.8% |
| 1970 | 0.0191 1000 ha per square kilometre | -2.7% |
| 1971 | 0.0207 1000 ha per square kilometre | +8.3% |
| 1972 | 0.0212 1000 ha per square kilometre | +2.6% |
| 1973 | 0.0217 1000 ha per square kilometre | +2.5% |
| 1974 | 0.0217 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0.0212 1000 ha per square kilometre | -2.4% |
| 1976 | 0.0212 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.0212 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.0217 1000 ha per square kilometre | +2.5% |
| 1979 | 0.0217 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.0202 1000 ha per square kilometre | -7.3% |
| 1981 | 0.0212 1000 ha per square kilometre | +5.3% |
| 1982 | 0.0223 1000 ha per square kilometre | +5.0% |
| 1983 | 0.0212 1000 ha per square kilometre | -4.8% |
| 1984 | 0.0217 1000 ha per square kilometre | +2.5% |
| 1985 | 0.0217 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 0.0228 1000 ha per square kilometre | +4.9% |
| 1987 | 0.0228 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.0228 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.0233 1000 ha per square kilometre | +2.3% |
| 1990 | 0.0239 1000 ha per square kilometre | +2.3% |
| 1991 | 0.0249 1000 ha per square kilometre | +4.4% |
| 1992 | 0.0244 1000 ha per square kilometre | -2.1% |
| 1993 | 0.0244 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 0.0223 1000 ha per square kilometre | -8.7% |
| 1995 | 0.0244 1000 ha per square kilometre | +9.5% |
| 1996 | 0.0255 1000 ha per square kilometre | +4.3% |
| 1997 | 0.026 1000 ha per square kilometre | +2.1% |
| 1998 | 0.0276 1000 ha per square kilometre | +6.1% |
| 1999 | 0.0286 1000 ha per square kilometre | +3.8% |
| 2000 | 0.0292 1000 ha per square kilometre | +1.9% |
| 2001 | 0.0302 1000 ha per square kilometre | +3.6% |
| 2002 | 0.0302 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 0.0318 1000 ha per square kilometre | +5.3% |
| 2004 | 0.0318 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 0.0339 1000 ha per square kilometre | +6.7% |
| 2006 | 0.035 1000 ha per square kilometre | +3.1% |
| 2007 | 0.035 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 0.0366 1000 ha per square kilometre | +4.5% |
| 2009 | 0.0371 1000 ha per square kilometre | +1.4% |
| 2010 | 0.0371 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 0.0371 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 0.0371 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 0.0376 1000 ha per square kilometre | +1.3% |
| 2014 | 0.0382 1000 ha per square kilometre | +1.6% |
| 2015 | 0.0388 1000 ha per square kilometre | +1.5% |
| 2016 | 0.0394 1000 ha per square kilometre | +1.5% |
| 2017 | 0.04 1000 ha per square kilometre | +1.5% |
| 2018 | 0.0405 1000 ha per square kilometre | +1.5% |
| 2019 | 0.0411 1000 ha per square kilometre | +1.4% |
| 2020 | 0.0417 1000 ha per square kilometre | +1.4% |
| 2021 | 0.0424 1000 ha per square kilometre | +1.7% |
| 2022 | 0.0424 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 0.0424 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.0% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 0.0424 1000 ha per square kilometre is above the median for low income countries, which is 0.0116 1000 ha per square kilometre, 3.6× the median. (22 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 0.0424 1000 ha per square kilometre is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.0109 1000 ha per square kilometre, 3.9× the median. (44 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.017 1000 ha per square kilometre | 0.0138 1000 ha per square kilometre | 0.0196 1000 ha per square kilometre | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.0212 1000 ha per square kilometre | 0.0191 1000 ha per square kilometre | 0.0217 1000 ha per square kilometre | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.022 1000 ha per square kilometre | 0.0202 1000 ha per square kilometre | 0.0233 1000 ha per square kilometre | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.0252 1000 ha per square kilometre | 0.0223 1000 ha per square kilometre | 0.0286 1000 ha per square kilometre | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.0331 1000 ha per square kilometre | 0.0292 1000 ha per square kilometre | 0.0371 1000 ha per square kilometre | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.0387 1000 ha per square kilometre | 0.0371 1000 ha per square kilometre | 0.0411 1000 ha per square kilometre | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.0423 1000 ha per square kilometre | 0.0417 1000 ha per square kilometre | 0.0424 1000 ha per square kilometre | 4 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
- 8 Rwanda 0.0454 1000 ha per square kilometre compare
- 9 Hungary 0.0454 1000 ha per square kilometre compare
- 10 Uganda 0.0436 1000 ha per square kilometre compare
- 12 Isle of Man 0.0411 1000 ha per square kilometre compare
- 13 Nigeria 0.0408 1000 ha per square kilometre compare
- 14 Pakistan 0.0393 1000 ha per square kilometre compare
More environment data for Malawi
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -0.9153 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -0.8098 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.254 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.07 °C (2025)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 3.43 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is arable land — area, per square kilometre in Malawi?
- Arable land — area, per square kilometre in Malawi was 0.0424 1000 ha per square kilometre in 2023, according to Statizoid (derived).
- What is the highest arable land — area, per square kilometre recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 0.0424 1000 ha per square kilometre in 2021.
- What is the lowest arable land — area, per square kilometre recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0138 1000 ha per square kilometre in 1961.
- How does Malawi rank for arable land — area, per square kilometre?
- Malawi ranks 11th out of 184 countries with data for 2023.
- Is arable land — area, per square kilometre rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from Statizoid (derived), published as part of Arable land — Area, per square kilometre. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under Derived by Statizoid from the sources named on the page.
How this figure is calculated
Arable land — Area divided by Land area (sq. km), matched on country and year. Neither publisher issues this ratio as a series; it is computed here from both.
Arable land — Area ÷ Land area (sq. km)
Computed from
- Arable land — Area Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
- Land area FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Statizoid computes this series; the underlying measurements belong to the publishers named above. The arithmetic is applied to every country and year where both inputs report, and nothing is estimated unless the page says so.
About this data
Arable land — Area divided by Land area (sq. km), matched on country and year. Neither publisher issues this ratio as a series; it is computed here from both.