Land area equipped for irrigation — Share in Cropland in Malawi
Malawi: Land area equipped for irrigation — Share in Cropland was 3.67 % in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Land area equipped for irrigation — Share in Cropland in Malawi, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 3.67 % for land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland in 2024. That is the highest value across all 64 years on record.
That represents a change of up 27.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland in Malawi peaked at 3.67 % in 2021 and was at its lowest, 0.06 %, in 1964.
That places Malawi 155th out of 217 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Land area equipped for irrigation — Share in Cropland in Malawi, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.07 % | — |
| 1962 | 0.07 % | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 0.07 % | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.06 % | -14.3% |
| 1965 | 0.06 % | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 0.11 % | +83.3% |
| 1967 | 0.17 % | +54.5% |
| 1968 | 0.16 % | -5.9% |
| 1969 | 0.21 % | +31.2% |
| 1970 | 0.21 % | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 0.25 % | +19.0% |
| 1972 | 0.34 % | +36.0% |
| 1973 | 0.43 % | +26.5% |
| 1974 | 0.52 % | +20.9% |
| 1975 | 0.63 % | +21.2% |
| 1976 | 0.72 % | +14.3% |
| 1977 | 0.77 % | +6.9% |
| 1978 | 0.75 % | -2.6% |
| 1979 | 0.85 % | +13.3% |
| 1980 | 0.9 % | +5.9% |
| 1981 | 0.86 % | -4.4% |
| 1982 | 0.82 % | -4.7% |
| 1983 | 0.86 % | +4.9% |
| 1984 | 0.84 % | -2.3% |
| 1985 | 0.83 % | -1.2% |
| 1986 | 0.79 % | -4.8% |
| 1987 | 0.79 % | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.79 % | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.86 % | +8.9% |
| 1990 | 0.84 % | -2.3% |
| 1991 | 0.81 % | -3.6% |
| 1992 | 1.15 % | +42.0% |
| 1993 | 1.15 % | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 1.44 % | +25.2% |
| 1995 | 1.48 % | +2.8% |
| 1996 | 1.58 % | +6.8% |
| 1997 | 1.67 % | +5.7% |
| 1998 | 1.72 % | +3.0% |
| 1999 | 1.8 % | +4.7% |
| 2000 | 1.91 % | +6.1% |
| 2001 | 1.85 % | -3.1% |
| 2002 | 2.05 % | +10.8% |
| 2003 | 2.01 % | -2.0% |
| 2004 | 2.27 % | +12.9% |
| 2005 | 2.19 % | -3.5% |
| 2006 | 2.19 % | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 2.25 % | +2.7% |
| 2008 | 2.23 % | -0.9% |
| 2009 | 2.29 % | +2.7% |
| 2010 | 2.4 % | +4.8% |
| 2011 | 2.5 % | +4.2% |
| 2012 | 2.67 % | +6.8% |
| 2013 | 2.76 % | +3.4% |
| 2014 | 2.89 % | +4.7% |
| 2015 | 3.01 % | +4.2% |
| 2016 | 3.07 % | +2.0% |
| 2017 | 3.18 % | +3.6% |
| 2018 | 3.29 % | +3.5% |
| 2019 | 3.4 % | +3.3% |
| 2020 | 3.49 % | +2.6% |
| 2021 | 3.67 % | +5.2% |
| 2022 | 3.67 % | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 3.67 % | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 3.67 % | +0.0% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 3.67 % is above the median for low income countries, which is 2.01 %, 1.8× the median. (23 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 3.67 % is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.63 %, 2.3× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Land area equipped for irrigation — Share in Cropland in Malawi 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | +83.3% | 0.06 % | 0.11 % |
| 1967 | +54.5% | 0.11 % | 0.17 % |
| 1992 | +42.0% | 0.81 % | 1.15 % |
| 1972 | +36.0% | 0.25 % | 0.34 % |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.1089 % | 0.06 % | 0.21 % | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.547 % | 0.21 % | 0.85 % | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.834 % | 0.79 % | 0.9 % | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.36 % | 0.81 % | 1.8 % | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.12 % | 1.85 % | 2.29 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.92 % | 2.4 % | 3.4 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.63 % | 3.49 % | 3.67 % | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
- 152 Guam 3.88 % compare
- 153 Kenya 3.77 % compare
- 154 French Polynesia 3.69 % compare
- 156 Russian Federation 3.48 % compare
- 156 Russia 3.48 % compare
- 158 Guinea-Bissau 3.28 % compare
More environment data for Malawi
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -0.9153 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -0.8098 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.254 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.07 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 3.65 % 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 5.3 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland in Malawi?
- Land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland in Malawi was 3.67 % in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 3.67 % in 2021.
- What is the lowest land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.06 % in 1964.
- How does Malawi rank for land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland?
- Malawi ranks 155th out of 217 countries with data for 2024.
- Is land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 27.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Land area equipped for irrigation — Share in Cropland. 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.