Land area equipped for irrigation — Area in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Land area equipped for irrigation — Area was 7,505 1000 ha in 2024. ▲ Rising
Land area equipped for irrigation — Area in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.
Analysis
Sub-Saharan Africa recorded 7,505 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 0.4% on the previous year and up 18.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land area equipped for irrigation — area in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 7,505 1000 ha in 2024 and was at its lowest, 2,004 1000 ha, in 1961.
That places Sub-Saharan Africa 24th out of 32 groups with data for 2024, putting it 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 Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 2,004 1000 ha | — |
| 1962 | 2,036 1000 ha | +1.6% |
| 1963 | 2,067 1000 ha | +1.5% |
| 1964 | 2,104 1000 ha | +1.8% |
| 1965 | 2,165 1000 ha | +2.9% |
| 1966 | 2,197 1000 ha | +1.5% |
| 1967 | 2,247 1000 ha | +2.3% |
| 1968 | 2,287 1000 ha | +1.8% |
| 1969 | 2,331 1000 ha | +1.9% |
| 1970 | 2,412 1000 ha | +3.5% |
| 1971 | 2,469 1000 ha | +2.4% |
| 1972 | 2,488 1000 ha | +0.8% |
| 1973 | 2,558 1000 ha | +2.8% |
| 1974 | 2,622 1000 ha | +2.5% |
| 1975 | 2,687 1000 ha | +2.5% |
| 1976 | 2,789 1000 ha | +3.8% |
| 1977 | 2,897 1000 ha | +3.9% |
| 1978 | 3,028 1000 ha | +4.5% |
| 1979 | 3,116 1000 ha | +2.9% |
| 1980 | 3,201 1000 ha | +2.8% |
| 1981 | 3,279 1000 ha | +2.4% |
| 1982 | 3,342 1000 ha | +1.9% |
| 1983 | 3,398 1000 ha | +1.7% |
| 1984 | 3,504 1000 ha | +3.1% |
| 1985 | 3,583 1000 ha | +2.3% |
| 1986 | 3,743 1000 ha | +4.5% |
| 1987 | 3,829 1000 ha | +2.3% |
| 1988 | 3,899 1000 ha | +1.8% |
| 1989 | 4,002 1000 ha | +2.6% |
| 1990 | 4,102 1000 ha | +2.5% |
| 1991 | 4,116 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1992 | 4,209 1000 ha | +2.2% |
| 1993 | 4,421 1000 ha | +5.0% |
| 1994 | 4,448 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1995 | 4,576 1000 ha | +2.9% |
| 1996 | 4,662 1000 ha | +1.9% |
| 1997 | 4,832 1000 ha | +3.6% |
| 1998 | 4,965 1000 ha | +2.8% |
| 1999 | 5,048 1000 ha | +1.7% |
| 2000 | 4,860 1000 ha | -3.7% |
| 2001 | 4,915 1000 ha | +1.1% |
| 2002 | 5,036 1000 ha | +2.5% |
| 2003 | 5,134 1000 ha | +2.0% |
| 2004 | 5,228 1000 ha | +1.8% |
| 2005 | 5,344 1000 ha | +2.2% |
| 2006 | 5,448 1000 ha | +2.0% |
| 2007 | 5,541 1000 ha | +1.7% |
| 2008 | 5,625 1000 ha | +1.5% |
| 2009 | 5,729 1000 ha | +1.9% |
| 2010 | 5,807 1000 ha | +1.4% |
| 2011 | 5,968 1000 ha | +2.8% |
| 2012 | 6,147 1000 ha | +3.0% |
| 2013 | 6,230 1000 ha | +1.3% |
| 2014 | 6,327 1000 ha | +1.6% |
| 2015 | 6,592 1000 ha | +4.2% |
| 2016 | 6,617 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 6,712 1000 ha | +1.4% |
| 2018 | 6,846 1000 ha | +2.0% |
| 2019 | 7,163 1000 ha | +4.6% |
| 2020 | 7,287 1000 ha | +1.7% |
| 2021 | 7,422 1000 ha | +1.8% |
| 2022 | 7,433 1000 ha | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 7,474 1000 ha | +0.5% |
| 2024 | 7,505 1000 ha | +0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2,160 1000 ha | 2,004 1000 ha | 2,331 1000 ha | 9 |
| 1970s | 2,707 1000 ha | 2,412 1000 ha | 3,116 1000 ha | 10 |
| 1980s | 3,578 1000 ha | 3,201 1000 ha | 4,002 1000 ha | 10 |
| 1990s | 4,538 1000 ha | 4,102 1000 ha | 5,048 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 5,286 1000 ha | 4,860 1000 ha | 5,729 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 6,441 1000 ha | 5,807 1000 ha | 7,163 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 7,424 1000 ha | 7,287 1000 ha | 7,505 1000 ha | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
More environment data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- 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, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (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 — Area 704,021 1000 ha (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land area equipped for irrigation — area in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Land area equipped for irrigation — area in Sub-Saharan Africa was 7,505 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 Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 7,505 1000 ha in 2024.
- What is the lowest land area equipped for irrigation — area recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 2,004 1000 ha in 1961.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for land area equipped for irrigation — area?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 24th out of 32 groups with data for 2024.
- Is land area equipped for irrigation — area rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.6%. 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 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.