Land area equipped for irrigation — Area in Africa
Africa: Land area equipped for irrigation — Area was 17,555 1000 ha in 2024. ▲ Rising
Land area equipped for irrigation — Area in Africa, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.
Analysis
Africa recorded 17,555 1000 ha for land area equipped for irrigation — area in 2024. That is the highest value across all 64 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.2% on the previous year and up 10.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land area equipped for irrigation — area in Africa peaked at 17,555 1000 ha in 2024 and was at its lowest, 7,375 1000 ha, in 1962.
Africa ranks 18th of 32 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.
Land area equipped for irrigation — Area in Africa, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 7,380 1000 ha | — |
| 1962 | 7,375 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 1963 | 7,417 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1964 | 7,492 1000 ha | +1.0% |
| 1965 | 7,750 1000 ha | +3.4% |
| 1966 | 7,923 1000 ha | +2.2% |
| 1967 | 8,040 1000 ha | +1.5% |
| 1968 | 8,099 1000 ha | +0.7% |
| 1969 | 8,203 1000 ha | +1.3% |
| 1970 | 8,418 1000 ha | +2.6% |
| 1971 | 8,533 1000 ha | +1.4% |
| 1972 | 8,604 1000 ha | +0.8% |
| 1973 | 8,723 1000 ha | +1.4% |
| 1974 | 8,824 1000 ha | +1.2% |
| 1975 | 8,921 1000 ha | +1.1% |
| 1976 | 8,970 1000 ha | +0.5% |
| 1977 | 9,027 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1978 | 9,112 1000 ha | +0.9% |
| 1979 | 9,156 1000 ha | +0.5% |
| 1980 | 9,289 1000 ha | +1.5% |
| 1981 | 9,442 1000 ha | +1.6% |
| 1982 | 9,527 1000 ha | +0.9% |
| 1983 | 9,644 1000 ha | +1.2% |
| 1984 | 9,805 1000 ha | +1.7% |
| 1985 | 10,052 1000 ha | +2.5% |
| 1986 | 10,321 1000 ha | +2.7% |
| 1987 | 10,432 1000 ha | +1.1% |
| 1988 | 10,596 1000 ha | +1.6% |
| 1989 | 10,790 1000 ha | +1.8% |
| 1990 | 11,084 1000 ha | +2.7% |
| 1991 | 11,211 1000 ha | +1.1% |
| 1992 | 11,719 1000 ha | +4.5% |
| 1993 | 11,988 1000 ha | +2.3% |
| 1994 | 12,016 1000 ha | +0.2% |
| 1995 | 12,455 1000 ha | +3.7% |
| 1996 | 12,436 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 1997 | 12,670 1000 ha | +1.9% |
| 1998 | 12,855 1000 ha | +1.5% |
| 1999 | 12,980 1000 ha | +1.0% |
| 2000 | 12,929 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2001 | 13,047 1000 ha | +0.9% |
| 2002 | 13,266 1000 ha | +1.7% |
| 2003 | 13,448 1000 ha | +1.4% |
| 2004 | 13,691 1000 ha | +1.8% |
| 2005 | 13,906 1000 ha | +1.6% |
| 2006 | 14,062 1000 ha | +1.1% |
| 2007 | 14,218 1000 ha | +1.1% |
| 2008 | 14,390 1000 ha | +1.2% |
| 2009 | 14,714 1000 ha | +2.3% |
| 2010 | 14,848 1000 ha | +0.9% |
| 2011 | 15,028 1000 ha | +1.2% |
| 2012 | 15,390 1000 ha | +2.4% |
| 2013 | 15,628 1000 ha | +1.5% |
| 2014 | 15,856 1000 ha | +1.5% |
| 2015 | 16,259 1000 ha | +2.5% |
| 2016 | 16,291 1000 ha | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 16,552 1000 ha | +1.6% |
| 2018 | 16,646 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 2019 | 17,056 1000 ha | +2.5% |
| 2020 | 17,231 1000 ha | +1.0% |
| 2021 | 17,424 1000 ha | +1.1% |
| 2022 | 17,463 1000 ha | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 17,524 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2024 | 17,555 1000 ha | +0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 7,742 1000 ha | 7,375 1000 ha | 8,203 1000 ha | 9 |
| 1970s | 8,829 1000 ha | 8,418 1000 ha | 9,156 1000 ha | 10 |
| 1980s | 9,990 1000 ha | 9,289 1000 ha | 10,790 1000 ha | 10 |
| 1990s | 12,141 1000 ha | 11,084 1000 ha | 12,980 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 13,767 1000 ha | 12,929 1000 ha | 14,714 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 15,955 1000 ha | 14,848 1000 ha | 17,056 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 17,439 1000 ha | 17,231 1000 ha | 17,555 1000 ha | 5 |
Countries ranked near Africa
More environment data for Africa
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -7.12 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -7.93 Percentage change (2025)
- Temperature change 1.32 °C (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.213 °C (2025)
- Other industrial roundwood, non-coniferous (production) — Production 26.92 million m3 (2024)
- Primary wood and paper products (export/import) — Import value 11.21 million 1000 USD (2024)
- Industrial roundwood, non-coniferous — Production 66.41 million m3 (2024)
- Sawlogs and veneer logs — Production 39.12 million m3 (2024)
- Sawlogs and veneer logs, coniferous — Production 9.31 million m3 (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land area equipped for irrigation — area in Africa?
- Land area equipped for irrigation — area in Africa was 17,555 1000 ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest land area equipped for irrigation — area recorded in Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 17,555 1000 ha in 2024.
- What is the lowest land area equipped for irrigation — area recorded in Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 7,375 1000 ha in 1962.
- How does Africa rank for land area equipped for irrigation — area?
- Africa ranks 18th out of 32 groups with data for 2024.
- Is land area equipped for irrigation — area rising or falling in Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Land area equipped for irrigation — Area. 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.