Arable land — Area, per square kilometre in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Arable land — Area, per square kilometre was 0.0093 1000 ha per square kilometre in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
0.0093 1000 ha per square kilometre
Change on year
up 0.7%
Rank
2nd
of 2 groups
All-time high
0.0093 1000 ha per square kilometre
in 2023
All-time low
0.006 1000 ha per square kilometre
in 1961
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Arable land — Area, per square kilometre in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1961–2023
Source: Statizoid (derived). Measured in 1000 ha per square kilometre.
Analysis
In 2023, arable land — area, per square kilometre in Sub-Saharan Africa stood at 0.0093 1000 ha per square kilometre. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.7% on the previous year and up 9.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land — area, per square kilometre in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 0.0093 1000 ha per square kilometre in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.006 1000 ha per square kilometre, in 1961.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Arable land — Area, per square kilometre in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha per square kilometre | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.006 1000 ha per square kilometre | — |
| 1962 | 0.006 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.7% |
| 1963 | 0.0061 1000 ha per square kilometre | +1.6% |
| 1964 | 0.0062 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.7% |
| 1965 | 0.0062 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.8% |
| 1966 | 0.0062 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.4% |
| 1967 | 0.0063 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.5% |
| 1968 | 0.0063 1000 ha per square kilometre | +1.2% |
| 1969 | 0.0064 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.7% |
| 1970 | 0.0064 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.2% |
| 1971 | 0.0065 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.9% |
| 1972 | 0.0065 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.6% |
| 1973 | 0.0065 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.2% |
| 1974 | 0.0065 1000 ha per square kilometre | -0.2% |
| 1975 | 0.0065 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.9% |
| 1976 | 0.0066 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.6% |
| 1977 | 0.0066 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.3% |
| 1978 | 0.0067 1000 ha per square kilometre | +1.1% |
| 1979 | 0.0067 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.4% |
| 1980 | 0.0067 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.4% |
| 1981 | 0.0067 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.1% |
| 1982 | 0.0068 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.6% |
| 1983 | 0.0068 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.7% |
| 1984 | 0.0069 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.5% |
| 1985 | 0.007 1000 ha per square kilometre | +1.9% |
| 1986 | 0.007 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.6% |
| 1987 | 0.007 1000 ha per square kilometre | -0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.0071 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.7% |
| 1989 | 0.0071 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.9% |
| 1990 | 0.0072 1000 ha per square kilometre | +1.3% |
| 1991 | 0.0074 1000 ha per square kilometre | +1.8% |
| 1992 | 0.0075 1000 ha per square kilometre | +1.9% |
| 1993 | 0.0072 1000 ha per square kilometre | -4.2% |
| 1994 | 0.0073 1000 ha per square kilometre | +1.2% |
| 1995 | 0.0075 1000 ha per square kilometre | +2.6% |
| 1996 | 0.0075 1000 ha per square kilometre | +1.1% |
| 1997 | 0.0076 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.6% |
| 1998 | 0.0076 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.6% |
| 1999 | 0.0078 1000 ha per square kilometre | +1.8% |
| 2000 | 0.0078 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 0.0079 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.9% |
| 2002 | 0.0079 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.8% |
| 2003 | 0.0081 1000 ha per square kilometre | +2.3% |
| 2004 | 0.0082 1000 ha per square kilometre | +1.0% |
| 2005 | 0.0083 1000 ha per square kilometre | +1.3% |
| 2006 | 0.0084 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.7% |
| 2007 | 0.0085 1000 ha per square kilometre | +1.2% |
| 2008 | 0.0086 1000 ha per square kilometre | +1.7% |
| 2009 | 0.0087 1000 ha per square kilometre | +1.4% |
| 2010 | 0.0091 1000 ha per square kilometre | +3.8% |
| 2011 | 0.0092 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.8% |
| 2012 | 0.0084 1000 ha per square kilometre | -8.3% |
| 2013 | 0.0085 1000 ha per square kilometre | +1.5% |
| 2014 | 0.0086 1000 ha per square kilometre | +1.5% |
| 2015 | 0.0088 1000 ha per square kilometre | +1.4% |
| 2016 | 0.0089 1000 ha per square kilometre | +1.2% |
| 2017 | 0.009 1000 ha per square kilometre | +1.6% |
| 2018 | 0.0091 1000 ha per square kilometre | +1.0% |
| 2019 | 0.009 1000 ha per square kilometre | -0.7% |
| 2020 | 0.0091 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 0.0092 1000 ha per square kilometre | +1.0% |
| 2022 | 0.0092 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.8% |
| 2023 | 0.0093 1000 ha per square kilometre | +0.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.0062 1000 ha per square kilometre | 0.006 1000 ha per square kilometre | 0.0064 1000 ha per square kilometre | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.0065 1000 ha per square kilometre | 0.0064 1000 ha per square kilometre | 0.0067 1000 ha per square kilometre | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.0069 1000 ha per square kilometre | 0.0067 1000 ha per square kilometre | 0.0071 1000 ha per square kilometre | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.0075 1000 ha per square kilometre | 0.0072 1000 ha per square kilometre | 0.0078 1000 ha per square kilometre | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.0083 1000 ha per square kilometre | 0.0078 1000 ha per square kilometre | 0.0087 1000 ha per square kilometre | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.0089 1000 ha per square kilometre | 0.0084 1000 ha per square kilometre | 0.0092 1000 ha per square kilometre | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.0092 1000 ha per square kilometre | 0.0091 1000 ha per square kilometre | 0.0093 1000 ha per square kilometre | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
More environment data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -6.36 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -7.11 Percentage change (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 arable land — area, per square kilometre in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Arable land — area, per square kilometre in Sub-Saharan Africa was 0.0093 1000 ha per square kilometre in 2023, according to Statizoid (derived).
- What is the highest arable land — area, per square kilometre recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 0.0093 1000 ha per square kilometre in 2023.
- What is the lowest arable land — area, per square kilometre recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.006 1000 ha per square kilometre in 1961.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for arable land — area, per square kilometre?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 2nd out of 2 groups with data for 2023.
- Is arable land — area, per square kilometre rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa 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.