Arable land use per person in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Arable land use per person was 0.0318 hectares per person in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
0.0318 hectares per person
Change on year
down 1.8%
World rank
158th
of 206 countries
All-time high
0.0538 hectares per person
in 1981
All-time low
0.0318 hectares per person
in 2023
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Arable land use per person in Papua New Guinea, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares per person.
Analysis
Papua New Guinea recorded 0.0318 hectares per person for arable land use per person in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
The figure is down 1.8% on the previous year and down 12.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land use per person in Papua New Guinea peaked at 0.0538 hectares per person in 1981 and was at its lowest, 0.0318 hectares per person, in 2023.
That places Papua New Guinea 158th out of 206 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Arable land use per person in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | hectares per person | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.0367 hectares per person | — |
| 1962 | 0.0358 hectares per person | -2.3% |
| 1963 | 0.035 hectares per person | -2.2% |
| 1964 | 0.0343 hectares per person | -2.1% |
| 1965 | 0.0335 hectares per person | -2.1% |
| 1966 | 0.035 hectares per person | +4.3% |
| 1967 | 0.0364 hectares per person | +3.9% |
| 1968 | 0.0356 hectares per person | -2.2% |
| 1969 | 0.0372 hectares per person | +4.6% |
| 1970 | 0.0407 hectares per person | +9.5% |
| 1971 | 0.0421 hectares per person | +3.4% |
| 1972 | 0.0434 hectares per person | +3.1% |
| 1973 | 0.0446 hectares per person | +2.8% |
| 1974 | 0.0458 hectares per person | +2.6% |
| 1975 | 0.0469 hectares per person | +2.4% |
| 1976 | 0.048 hectares per person | +2.3% |
| 1977 | 0.049 hectares per person | +2.1% |
| 1978 | 0.0533 hectares per person | +8.8% |
| 1979 | 0.0538 hectares per person | +1.0% |
| 1980 | 0.0533 hectares per person | -0.9% |
| 1981 | 0.0538 hectares per person | +0.9% |
| 1982 | 0.0536 hectares per person | -0.4% |
| 1983 | 0.0537 hectares per person | +0.2% |
| 1984 | 0.0529 hectares per person | -1.6% |
| 1985 | 0.0526 hectares per person | -0.5% |
| 1986 | 0.052 hectares per person | -1.1% |
| 1987 | 0.0512 hectares per person | -1.6% |
| 1988 | 0.0506 hectares per person | -1.1% |
| 1989 | 0.0501 hectares per person | -1.2% |
| 1990 | 0.0493 hectares per person | -1.6% |
| 1991 | 0.0477 hectares per person | -3.1% |
| 1992 | 0.0461 hectares per person | -3.5% |
| 1993 | 0.0447 hectares per person | -3.1% |
| 1994 | 0.0431 hectares per person | -3.6% |
| 1995 | 0.0418 hectares per person | -3.0% |
| 1996 | 0.0405 hectares per person | -3.0% |
| 1997 | 0.0395 hectares per person | -2.5% |
| 1998 | 0.0385 hectares per person | -2.5% |
| 1999 | 0.0379 hectares per person | -1.5% |
| 2000 | 0.037 hectares per person | -2.4% |
| 2001 | 0.0367 hectares per person | -1.0% |
| 2002 | 0.0371 hectares per person | +1.3% |
| 2003 | 0.0367 hectares per person | -1.1% |
| 2004 | 0.0363 hectares per person | -1.1% |
| 2005 | 0.0367 hectares per person | +1.0% |
| 2006 | 0.0382 hectares per person | +4.1% |
| 2007 | 0.0378 hectares per person | -1.2% |
| 2008 | 0.0411 hectares per person | +8.7% |
| 2009 | 0.0405 hectares per person | -1.4% |
| 2010 | 0.0393 hectares per person | -3.0% |
| 2011 | 0.0382 hectares per person | -2.9% |
| 2012 | 0.0371 hectares per person | -2.7% |
| 2013 | 0.0361 hectares per person | -2.7% |
| 2014 | 0.037 hectares per person | +2.3% |
| 2015 | 0.0366 hectares per person | -1.0% |
| 2016 | 0.0364 hectares per person | -0.6% |
| 2017 | 0.036 hectares per person | -1.2% |
| 2018 | 0.0351 hectares per person | -2.3% |
| 2019 | 0.0343 hectares per person | -2.2% |
| 2020 | 0.0336 hectares per person | -2.1% |
| 2021 | 0.033 hectares per person | -2.0% |
| 2022 | 0.0323 hectares per person | -1.9% |
| 2023 | 0.0318 hectares per person | -1.8% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 0.0318 hectares per person is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.1272 hectares per person, 25% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Papua New Guinea's 0.0318 hectares per person is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.0406 hectares per person, 78% of the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.0355 hectares per person | 0.0335 hectares per person | 0.0372 hectares per person | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.0467 hectares per person | 0.0407 hectares per person | 0.0538 hectares per person | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.0524 hectares per person | 0.0501 hectares per person | 0.0538 hectares per person | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.0429 hectares per person | 0.0379 hectares per person | 0.0493 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.0378 hectares per person | 0.0363 hectares per person | 0.0411 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.0366 hectares per person | 0.0343 hectares per person | 0.0393 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.0327 hectares per person | 0.0318 hectares per person | 0.0336 hectares per person | 4 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
- 155 Jamaica 0.0423 hectares per person compare
- 156 Costa Rica 0.0327 hectares per person compare
- 157 Japan 0.0325 hectares per person compare
- 159 Yemen 0.0294 hectares per person compare
- 160 Solomon Islands 0.0287 hectares per person compare
- 161 Equatorial Guinea 0.0287 hectares per person compare
More environment data for Papua New Guinea
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 1.56 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 2.24 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.183 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.834 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.9266 % 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 0.6032 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is arable land use per person in Papua New Guinea?
- Arable land use per person in Papua New Guinea was 0.0318 hectares per person in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest arable land use per person recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 0.0538 hectares per person in 1981.
- What is the lowest arable land use per person recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0318 hectares per person in 2023.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for arable land use per person?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 158th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is arable land use per person rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Arable land use per person. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Arable land is defined by the FAO as land under temporary crops, temporary meadows for mowing or for pasture, land under market or kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow. It is measured in hectares per person.