Arable land — Share in Agricultural land in Western Africa
Western Africa: Arable land — Share in Agricultural land was 33.2 % in 2024. ▲ Rising
Arable land — Share in Agricultural land in Western Africa, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
Western Africa recorded 33.2 % for arable land — share in agricultural land in 2024. That is the highest value across all 64 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.2% on the previous year and up 4.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land — share in agricultural land in Western Africa peaked at 33.2 % in 2024 and was at its lowest, 23.13 %, in 1961.
That places Western Africa 13th out of 31 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 — Share in Agricultural land in Western Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 23.13 % | — |
| 1962 | 23.18 % | +0.2% |
| 1963 | 23.27 % | +0.4% |
| 1964 | 23.32 % | +0.2% |
| 1965 | 23.4 % | +0.3% |
| 1966 | 23.47 % | +0.3% |
| 1967 | 23.62 % | +0.6% |
| 1968 | 23.95 % | +1.4% |
| 1969 | 23.95 % | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 23.68 % | -1.1% |
| 1971 | 23.78 % | +0.4% |
| 1972 | 23.83 % | +0.2% |
| 1973 | 23.77 % | -0.3% |
| 1974 | 23.53 % | -1.0% |
| 1975 | 23.64 % | +0.5% |
| 1976 | 23.76 % | +0.5% |
| 1977 | 23.78 % | +0.1% |
| 1978 | 23.91 % | +0.5% |
| 1979 | 24.02 % | +0.5% |
| 1980 | 24.12 % | +0.4% |
| 1981 | 24.04 % | -0.3% |
| 1982 | 24.2 % | +0.7% |
| 1983 | 24.28 % | +0.3% |
| 1984 | 24.44 % | +0.7% |
| 1985 | 24.55 % | +0.5% |
| 1986 | 24.57 % | +0.1% |
| 1987 | 24.61 % | +0.2% |
| 1988 | 24.72 % | +0.4% |
| 1989 | 24.88 % | +0.6% |
| 1990 | 25.32 % | +1.8% |
| 1991 | 26.06 % | +2.9% |
| 1992 | 26.8 % | +2.8% |
| 1993 | 27.1 % | +1.1% |
| 1994 | 27.5 % | +1.5% |
| 1995 | 28.29 % | +2.9% |
| 1996 | 28.81 % | +1.8% |
| 1997 | 28.89 % | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 29.13 % | +0.8% |
| 1999 | 29.62 % | +1.7% |
| 2000 | 29.59 % | -0.1% |
| 2001 | 29.82 % | +0.8% |
| 2002 | 29.96 % | +0.5% |
| 2003 | 30.38 % | +1.4% |
| 2004 | 30.51 % | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 30.09 % | -1.4% |
| 2006 | 30.03 % | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 30.11 % | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 30.6 % | +1.6% |
| 2009 | 30.78 % | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 30.99 % | +0.7% |
| 2011 | 30.93 % | -0.2% |
| 2012 | 31.04 % | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 31.41 % | +1.2% |
| 2014 | 31.66 % | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 32.01 % | +1.1% |
| 2016 | 32.38 % | +1.2% |
| 2017 | 32.78 % | +1.2% |
| 2018 | 32.93 % | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 32.7 % | -0.7% |
| 2020 | 32.57 % | -0.4% |
| 2021 | 32.82 % | +0.8% |
| 2022 | 32.76 % | -0.2% |
| 2023 | 33.15 % | +1.2% |
| 2024 | 33.2 % | +0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 23.48 % | 23.13 % | 23.95 % | 9 |
| 1970s | 23.77 % | 23.53 % | 24.02 % | 10 |
| 1980s | 24.44 % | 24.04 % | 24.88 % | 10 |
| 1990s | 27.75 % | 25.32 % | 29.62 % | 10 |
| 2000s | 30.19 % | 29.59 % | 30.78 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 31.88 % | 30.93 % | 32.93 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 32.9 % | 32.57 % | 33.2 % | 5 |
Countries ranked near Western Africa
More environment data for Western Africa
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -6.59 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -6.69 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 arable land — share in agricultural land in Western Africa?
- Arable land — share in agricultural land in Western Africa was 33.2 % in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest arable land — share in agricultural land recorded in Western Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 33.2 % in 2024.
- What is the lowest arable land — share in agricultural land recorded in Western Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 23.13 % in 1961.
- How does Western Africa rank for arable land — share in agricultural land?
- Western Africa ranks 13th out of 31 groups with data for 2024.
- Is arable land — share in agricultural land rising or falling in Western Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.9%. 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 — Share in Agricultural land. 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.