What is arable land use per person in Zambia?

Arable land use per person in Zambia was 0.1834 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 Zambia?

The highest recorded value was 0.7833 hectares per person in 1961.

What is the lowest arable land use per person recorded in Zambia?

The lowest recorded value was 0.1834 hectares per person in 2023.

How does Zambia rank for arable land use per person?

Zambia ranks 69th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.

Is arable land use per person rising or falling in Zambia?

Over the last ten years it is down 23.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.

Where does this Zambia 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.

Arable land use per person in Zambia

Name: Arable land use per person in Zambia
Creator: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Zambia: Arable land use per person was 0.1834 hectares per person in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)

0.1834 hectares per person

Change on year

down 2.8%

World rank

69th

of 206 countries

All-time high

0.7833 hectares per person

in 1961

All-time low

0.1834 hectares per person

in 2023

Years of data

1961–2023

Arable land use per person in Zambia, 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

In 2023, arable land use per person in Zambia stood at 0.1834 hectares per person. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.

The figure is down 2.8% on the previous year and down 23.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, arable land use per person in Zambia peaked at 0.7833 hectares per person in 1961 and was at its lowest, 0.1834 hectares per person, in 2023.

Zambia ranks 69th of 206 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1960s	0.7124 hectares per person	0.6514 hectares per person	0.7833 hectares per person	9
1970s	0.5753 hectares per person	0.4095 hectares per person	0.651 hectares per person	10
1980s	0.3879 hectares per person	0.376 hectares per person	0.4019 hectares per person	10
1990s	0.326 hectares per person	0.292 hectares per person	0.3713 hectares per person	10
2000s	0.2517 hectares per person	0.2327 hectares per person	0.2839 hectares per person	10
2010s	0.23 hectares per person	0.2053 hectares per person	0.2548 hectares per person	10
2020s	0.1913 hectares per person	0.1834 hectares per person	0.1994 hectares per person	4

Countries ranked near Zambia

66 Sierra Leone 0.1872 hectares per person compare
67 Syria 0.1865 hectares per person compare
68 Guinea-Bissau 0.1837 hectares per person compare
70 Morocco 0.1823 hectares per person compare
71 Kyrgyzstan 0.1812 hectares per person compare
72 Greece 0.1788 hectares per person compare

See the full ranking of 206 places →

More environment data for Zambia

Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 38.52 Mt CO2e (2024)
Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 1.81 t CO2e/capita (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 6.39 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 2.21 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 8.56 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0539 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 18.28 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0026 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0155 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 1.04 Mt CO2e (2024)

All data for Zambia →

Frequently asked questions

What is arable land use per person in Zambia?: Arable land use per person in Zambia was 0.1834 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 Zambia?: The highest recorded value was 0.7833 hectares per person in 1961.
What is the lowest arable land use per person recorded in Zambia?: The lowest recorded value was 0.1834 hectares per person in 2023.
How does Zambia rank for arable land use per person?: Zambia ranks 69th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
Is arable land use per person rising or falling in Zambia?: Over the last ten years it is down 23.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Zambia 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

Indicator: Arable land use per person
Unit: hectares per person
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 206 places, 11,842 data points, 1961–2023
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

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.