Arable land — Share in Agricultural land in Zambia
Zambia: Arable land — Share in Agricultural land was 15.94 % in 2024. ▲ Rising
Arable land — Share in Agricultural land in Zambia, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
Zambia recorded 15.94 % 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 2.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land — share in agricultural land in Zambia peaked at 15.94 % in 2012 and was at its lowest, 11.42 %, in 2002.
That places Zambia 190th out of 248 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Arable land — Share in Agricultural land in Zambia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 13.2 % | — |
| 1962 | 13.18 % | -0.2% |
| 1963 | 13.28 % | +0.8% |
| 1964 | 13.37 % | +0.7% |
| 1965 | 13.35 % | -0.1% |
| 1966 | 13.56 % | +1.6% |
| 1967 | 13.59 % | +0.2% |
| 1968 | 13.71 % | +0.9% |
| 1969 | 13.81 % | +0.7% |
| 1970 | 13.9 % | +0.7% |
| 1971 | 14.42 % | +3.7% |
| 1972 | 14.44 % | +0.1% |
| 1973 | 14.46 % | +0.1% |
| 1974 | 14.55 % | +0.6% |
| 1975 | 14.45 % | -0.7% |
| 1976 | 14.33 % | -0.8% |
| 1977 | 14.21 % | -0.8% |
| 1978 | 13.51 % | -4.9% |
| 1979 | 11.66 % | -13.7% |
| 1980 | 11.75 % | +0.8% |
| 1981 | 11.97 % | +1.9% |
| 1982 | 12.2 % | +1.9% |
| 1983 | 12.42 % | +1.8% |
| 1984 | 12.64 % | +1.8% |
| 1985 | 12.85 % | +1.7% |
| 1986 | 13.06 % | +1.6% |
| 1987 | 13.27 % | +1.6% |
| 1988 | 13.48 % | +1.6% |
| 1989 | 13.93 % | +3.3% |
| 1990 | 13.89 % | -0.3% |
| 1991 | 13.23 % | -4.8% |
| 1992 | 13.19 % | -0.3% |
| 1993 | 13.11 % | -0.6% |
| 1994 | 13.27 % | +1.2% |
| 1995 | 13.14 % | -1.0% |
| 1996 | 13.03 % | -0.8% |
| 1997 | 12.92 % | -0.8% |
| 1998 | 12.83 % | -0.7% |
| 1999 | 12.72 % | -0.9% |
| 2000 | 12.63 % | -0.7% |
| 2001 | 12.07 % | -4.4% |
| 2002 | 11.42 % | -5.4% |
| 2003 | 12.55 % | +9.9% |
| 2004 | 12.5 % | -0.4% |
| 2005 | 11.98 % | -4.2% |
| 2006 | 13.07 % | +9.1% |
| 2007 | 12.83 % | -1.8% |
| 2008 | 13.22 % | +3.0% |
| 2009 | 15.05 % | +13.8% |
| 2010 | 14.51 % | -3.6% |
| 2011 | 15.23 % | +5.0% |
| 2012 | 15.94 % | +4.7% |
| 2013 | 15.59 % | -2.2% |
| 2014 | 15.59 % | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 15.59 % | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 15.59 % | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 15.94 % | +2.2% |
| 2018 | 15.94 % | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 15.94 % | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 15.94 % | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 15.94 % | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 15.94 % | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 15.94 % | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 15.94 % | +0.0% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 15.94 % is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 23.52 %, 68% of the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 15.94 % is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 23.01 %, 69% of the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 13.45 % | 13.18 % | 13.81 % | 9 |
| 1970s | 13.99 % | 11.66 % | 14.55 % | 10 |
| 1980s | 12.76 % | 11.75 % | 13.93 % | 10 |
| 1990s | 13.13 % | 12.72 % | 13.89 % | 10 |
| 2000s | 12.73 % | 11.42 % | 15.05 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 15.59 % | 14.51 % | 15.94 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 15.94 % | 15.94 % | 15.94 % | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
- 187 Lebanon 16.94 % compare
- 188 Peru 16.12 % compare
- 189 Mali 16.09 % compare
- 191 Uzbekistan 15.65 % compare
- 192 Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 15.4 % compare
- 193 Northern Mariana Islands 14.85 % compare
More environment data for Zambia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -2.98 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -3.03 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.265 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.11 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.74 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate 3.49 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is arable land — share in agricultural land in Zambia?
- Arable land — share in agricultural land in Zambia was 15.94 % in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest arable land — share in agricultural land recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 15.94 % in 2012.
- What is the lowest arable land — share in agricultural land recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.42 % in 2002.
- How does Zambia rank for arable land — share in agricultural land?
- Zambia ranks 190th out of 248 countries with data for 2024.
- Is arable land — share in agricultural land rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia 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.