Cropland — Share in Agricultural land in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Cropland — Share in Agricultural land was 27.19 % in 2024. ▲ Rising
Cropland — Share in Agricultural land in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, cropland — share in agricultural land in Sub-Saharan Africa stood at 27.19 %. That is the highest value across all 64 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.5% on the previous year and up 8.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, cropland — share in agricultural land in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 27.19 % in 2024 and was at its lowest, 16.29 %, in 1961.
Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 21st of 31 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Cropland — Share in Agricultural land in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 16.29 % | — |
| 1962 | 16.44 % | +0.9% |
| 1963 | 16.68 % | +1.5% |
| 1964 | 16.84 % | +1.0% |
| 1965 | 16.99 % | +0.9% |
| 1966 | 17.05 % | +0.4% |
| 1967 | 17.1 % | +0.3% |
| 1968 | 17.28 % | +1.1% |
| 1969 | 17.39 % | +0.6% |
| 1970 | 17.44 % | +0.3% |
| 1971 | 17.57 % | +0.7% |
| 1972 | 17.67 % | +0.6% |
| 1973 | 17.73 % | +0.3% |
| 1974 | 17.74 % | +0.1% |
| 1975 | 17.92 % | +1.0% |
| 1976 | 18.02 % | +0.6% |
| 1977 | 18.11 % | +0.5% |
| 1978 | 18.28 % | +0.9% |
| 1979 | 18.36 % | +0.4% |
| 1980 | 18.42 % | +0.3% |
| 1981 | 18.43 % | +0.1% |
| 1982 | 18.53 % | +0.5% |
| 1983 | 18.62 % | +0.5% |
| 1984 | 18.72 % | +0.5% |
| 1985 | 19.04 % | +1.7% |
| 1986 | 19.13 % | +0.5% |
| 1987 | 19.13 % | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 19.25 % | +0.6% |
| 1989 | 19.35 % | +0.5% |
| 1990 | 19.58 % | +1.2% |
| 1991 | 19.81 % | +1.2% |
| 1992 | 20.06 % | +1.3% |
| 1993 | 20.72 % | +3.3% |
| 1994 | 20.82 % | +0.5% |
| 1995 | 21.26 % | +2.1% |
| 1996 | 21.41 % | +0.7% |
| 1997 | 21.47 % | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 21.58 % | +0.5% |
| 1999 | 21.85 % | +1.3% |
| 2000 | 21.95 % | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 22.04 % | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 22.18 % | +0.6% |
| 2003 | 22.56 % | +1.7% |
| 2004 | 22.91 % | +1.6% |
| 2005 | 23.06 % | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 23.16 % | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 23.41 % | +1.1% |
| 2008 | 23.72 % | +1.3% |
| 2009 | 24.03 % | +1.3% |
| 2010 | 24.64 % | +2.5% |
| 2011 | 24.82 % | +0.7% |
| 2012 | 24.58 % | -1.0% |
| 2013 | 24.85 % | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 25.16 % | +1.2% |
| 2015 | 25.54 % | +1.5% |
| 2016 | 25.71 % | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 26.06 % | +1.4% |
| 2018 | 26.38 % | +1.2% |
| 2019 | 26.35 % | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 26.55 % | +0.8% |
| 2021 | 26.76 % | +0.8% |
| 2022 | 26.98 % | +0.8% |
| 2023 | 27.06 % | +0.3% |
| 2024 | 27.19 % | +0.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 16.9 % | 16.29 % | 17.39 % | 9 |
| 1970s | 17.88 % | 17.44 % | 18.36 % | 10 |
| 1980s | 18.86 % | 18.42 % | 19.35 % | 10 |
| 1990s | 20.86 % | 19.58 % | 21.85 % | 10 |
| 2000s | 22.9 % | 21.95 % | 24.03 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 25.41 % | 24.58 % | 26.38 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 26.91 % | 26.55 % | 27.19 % | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
- 18 American Samoa 98.74 % compare
- 19 Cyprus 98.4 % compare
- 20 Sao Tome and Principe 97.74 % compare
- 21 Thailand 97.61 % compare
- 22 Malaysia 96.55 % compare
- 23 Republic of Korea 96.41 % compare
- 24 Myanmar 96.35 % compare
More environment data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -7.11 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -6.36 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.223 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.21 °C (2025)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 305.43 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Aquaculture production 904,662 metric tons (2024)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 2.29 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Transport (Energy) 2.96 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Permanent meadows and pastures — Share in Agricultural land 72.81 % (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is cropland — share in agricultural land in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Cropland — share in agricultural land in Sub-Saharan Africa was 27.19 % in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest cropland — share in agricultural land recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 27.19 % in 2024.
- What is the lowest cropland — share in agricultural land recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.29 % in 1961.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for cropland — share in agricultural land?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 21st out of 31 groups with data for 2024.
- Is cropland — share in agricultural land rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Cropland — 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.