Arable land — Area in Western Africa
Western Africa: Arable land — Area was 99,061 1000 ha in 2024. ▲ Rising
Arable land — Area in Western Africa, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.
Analysis
The most recent figure for arable land — area in Western Africa is 99,061 1000 ha, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 64 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.4% on the previous year and up 9.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land — area in Western Africa peaked at 99,061 1000 ha in 2024 and was at its lowest, 52,983 1000 ha, in 1961.
That places Western Africa 18th out of 32 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Arable land — Area in Western Africa, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 52,983 1000 ha | — |
| 1962 | 53,159 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 1963 | 53,438 1000 ha | +0.5% |
| 1964 | 53,612 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 1965 | 53,887 1000 ha | +0.5% |
| 1966 | 54,073 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 1967 | 54,404 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1968 | 55,432 1000 ha | +1.9% |
| 1969 | 55,460 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 1970 | 54,665 1000 ha | -1.4% |
| 1971 | 54,942 1000 ha | +0.5% |
| 1972 | 55,086 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 1973 | 54,972 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 1974 | 54,258 1000 ha | -1.3% |
| 1975 | 54,629 1000 ha | +0.7% |
| 1976 | 55,033 1000 ha | +0.7% |
| 1977 | 55,065 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 1978 | 55,469 1000 ha | +0.7% |
| 1979 | 55,883 1000 ha | +0.7% |
| 1980 | 56,363 1000 ha | +0.9% |
| 1981 | 56,162 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1982 | 56,686 1000 ha | +0.9% |
| 1983 | 57,052 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1984 | 57,630 1000 ha | +1.0% |
| 1985 | 58,133 1000 ha | +0.9% |
| 1986 | 58,418 1000 ha | +0.5% |
| 1987 | 58,567 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 1988 | 59,119 1000 ha | +0.9% |
| 1989 | 59,544 1000 ha | +0.7% |
| 1990 | 61,408 1000 ha | +3.1% |
| 1991 | 63,573 1000 ha | +3.5% |
| 1992 | 66,023 1000 ha | +3.9% |
| 1993 | 67,457 1000 ha | +2.2% |
| 1994 | 68,897 1000 ha | +2.1% |
| 1995 | 72,285 1000 ha | +4.9% |
| 1996 | 74,358 1000 ha | +2.9% |
| 1997 | 74,805 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1998 | 75,702 1000 ha | +1.2% |
| 1999 | 77,620 1000 ha | +2.5% |
| 2000 | 77,838 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 78,729 1000 ha | +1.1% |
| 2002 | 79,597 1000 ha | +1.1% |
| 2003 | 81,262 1000 ha | +2.1% |
| 2004 | 81,758 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 2005 | 82,401 1000 ha | +0.8% |
| 2006 | 82,155 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 82,900 1000 ha | +0.9% |
| 2008 | 84,703 1000 ha | +2.2% |
| 2009 | 85,335 1000 ha | +0.7% |
| 2010 | 86,593 1000 ha | +1.5% |
| 2011 | 86,454 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2012 | 87,294 1000 ha | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 88,881 1000 ha | +1.8% |
| 2014 | 90,204 1000 ha | +1.5% |
| 2015 | 92,493 1000 ha | +2.5% |
| 2016 | 93,785 1000 ha | +1.4% |
| 2017 | 95,767 1000 ha | +2.1% |
| 2018 | 97,086 1000 ha | +1.4% |
| 2019 | 95,841 1000 ha | -1.3% |
| 2020 | 95,685 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 96,956 1000 ha | +1.3% |
| 2022 | 97,281 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 98,618 1000 ha | +1.4% |
| 2024 | 99,061 1000 ha | +0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 54,050 1000 ha | 52,983 1000 ha | 55,460 1000 ha | 9 |
| 1970s | 55,000 1000 ha | 54,258 1000 ha | 55,883 1000 ha | 10 |
| 1980s | 57,767 1000 ha | 56,162 1000 ha | 59,544 1000 ha | 10 |
| 1990s | 70,213 1000 ha | 61,408 1000 ha | 77,620 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 81,668 1000 ha | 77,838 1000 ha | 85,335 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 91,440 1000 ha | 86,454 1000 ha | 97,086 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 97,520 1000 ha | 95,685 1000 ha | 99,061 1000 ha | 5 |
Countries ranked near Western Africa
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)
- Standard Deviation 0.311 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.37 °C (2025)
- Industrial roundwood — Export quantity 355,916 m3 (2024)
- Industrial roundwood, coniferous — Production 51,000 m3 (2024)
- Industrial roundwood — Import value 18,051 1000 USD (2024)
- Industrial roundwood — Import quantity 79,324 m3 (2024)
- Industrial roundwood — Production 20.68 million m3 (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is arable land — area in Western Africa?
- Arable land — area in Western Africa was 99,061 1000 ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest arable land — area recorded in Western Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 99,061 1000 ha in 2024.
- What is the lowest arable land — area recorded in Western Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 52,983 1000 ha in 1961.
- How does Western Africa rank for arable land — area?
- Western Africa ranks 18th out of 32 groups with data for 2024.
- Is arable land — area rising or falling in Western Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.8%. 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 Arable 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.