Arable land use per person in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Arable land use per person was 0.0623 hectares per person in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
0.0623 hectares per person
Change on year
up 0.7%
World rank
141st
of 206 countries
All-time high
0.0762 hectares per person
in 1963
All-time low
0.0448 hectares per person
in 2004
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Arable land use per person in Sri Lanka, 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
Sri Lanka recorded 0.0623 hectares per person for arable land use per person in 2023.
That represents a change of up 0.7% on the previous year and down 1.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land use per person in Sri Lanka peaked at 0.0762 hectares per person in 1963 and was at its lowest, 0.0448 hectares per person, in 2004.
That places Sri Lanka 141st out of 206 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Arable land use per person in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | hectares per person | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.0601 hectares per person | — |
| 1962 | 0.0569 hectares per person | -5.4% |
| 1963 | 0.0762 hectares per person | +33.9% |
| 1964 | 0.0742 hectares per person | -2.7% |
| 1965 | 0.0726 hectares per person | -2.0% |
| 1966 | 0.0708 hectares per person | -2.5% |
| 1967 | 0.0691 hectares per person | -2.4% |
| 1968 | 0.068 hectares per person | -1.6% |
| 1969 | 0.0669 hectares per person | -1.6% |
| 1970 | 0.0659 hectares per person | -1.5% |
| 1971 | 0.065 hectares per person | -1.4% |
| 1972 | 0.0642 hectares per person | -1.3% |
| 1973 | 0.0634 hectares per person | -1.2% |
| 1974 | 0.0627 hectares per person | -1.1% |
| 1975 | 0.0657 hectares per person | +4.8% |
| 1976 | 0.0671 hectares per person | +2.1% |
| 1977 | 0.0686 hectares per person | +2.3% |
| 1978 | 0.0699 hectares per person | +1.9% |
| 1979 | 0.0611 hectares per person | -12.5% |
| 1980 | 0.0574 hectares per person | -6.1% |
| 1981 | 0.0583 hectares per person | +1.6% |
| 1982 | 0.0558 hectares per person | -4.2% |
| 1983 | 0.0565 hectares per person | +1.2% |
| 1984 | 0.0569 hectares per person | +0.7% |
| 1985 | 0.0554 hectares per person | -2.6% |
| 1986 | 0.055 hectares per person | -0.7% |
| 1987 | 0.0551 hectares per person | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.0547 hectares per person | -0.7% |
| 1989 | 0.0542 hectares per person | -0.8% |
| 1990 | 0.0544 hectares per person | +0.3% |
| 1991 | 0.0541 hectares per person | -0.5% |
| 1992 | 0.0533 hectares per person | -1.5% |
| 1993 | 0.0514 hectares per person | -3.6% |
| 1994 | 0.0513 hectares per person | -0.3% |
| 1995 | 0.0505 hectares per person | -1.5% |
| 1996 | 0.0492 hectares per person | -2.6% |
| 1997 | 0.0482 hectares per person | -2.0% |
| 1998 | 0.0473 hectares per person | -1.8% |
| 1999 | 0.0468 hectares per person | -1.2% |
| 2000 | 0.0467 hectares per person | -0.2% |
| 2001 | 0.046 hectares per person | -1.5% |
| 2002 | 0.0465 hectares per person | +1.1% |
| 2003 | 0.0476 hectares per person | +2.5% |
| 2004 | 0.0448 hectares per person | -5.9% |
| 2005 | 0.0544 hectares per person | +21.4% |
| 2006 | 0.0516 hectares per person | -5.2% |
| 2007 | 0.0488 hectares per person | -5.4% |
| 2008 | 0.0582 hectares per person | +19.2% |
| 2009 | 0.0578 hectares per person | -0.6% |
| 2010 | 0.0575 hectares per person | -0.6% |
| 2011 | 0.0619 hectares per person | +7.7% |
| 2012 | 0.0614 hectares per person | -0.8% |
| 2013 | 0.0632 hectares per person | +2.8% |
| 2014 | 0.0626 hectares per person | -0.9% |
| 2015 | 0.062 hectares per person | -0.9% |
| 2016 | 0.0618 hectares per person | -0.4% |
| 2017 | 0.0615 hectares per person | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 0.0633 hectares per person | +2.9% |
| 2019 | 0.0629 hectares per person | -0.6% |
| 2020 | 0.0626 hectares per person | -0.5% |
| 2021 | 0.0619 hectares per person | -1.1% |
| 2022 | 0.0619 hectares per person | -0.1% |
| 2023 | 0.0623 hectares per person | +0.7% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 0.0623 hectares per person is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.1102 hectares per person, 56% of the median. (57 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 0.0623 hectares per person is above the median for South Asia, which is 0.0615 hectares per person, 1.0× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Arable land use per person in Sri Lanka changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | +33.9% | 0.0569 hectares per person | 0.0762 hectares per person |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.0683 hectares per person | 0.0569 hectares per person | 0.0762 hectares per person | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.0653 hectares per person | 0.0611 hectares per person | 0.0699 hectares per person | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.0559 hectares per person | 0.0542 hectares per person | 0.0583 hectares per person | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.0507 hectares per person | 0.0468 hectares per person | 0.0544 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.0502 hectares per person | 0.0448 hectares per person | 0.0582 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.0618 hectares per person | 0.0575 hectares per person | 0.0633 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.0622 hectares per person | 0.0619 hectares per person | 0.0626 hectares per person | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More environment data for Sri Lanka
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 5.24 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 5.49 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.207 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.849 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 5.63 % 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 1.22 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is arable land use per person in Sri Lanka?
- Arable land use per person in Sri Lanka was 0.0623 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 Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 0.0762 hectares per person in 1963.
- What is the lowest arable land use per person recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0448 hectares per person in 2004.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for arable land use per person?
- Sri Lanka ranks 141st out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is arable land use per person rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sri Lanka 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.