Land area equipped for irrigation — Share in Cropland in Southern Africa
Southern Africa: Land area equipped for irrigation — Share in Cropland was 16.15 % in 2024. ▲ Rising
Land area equipped for irrigation — Share in Cropland in Southern Africa, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
Southern Africa recorded 16.15 % for land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland in 2024.
The figure is up 29.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland in Southern Africa peaked at 16.24 % in 2021 and was at its lowest, 6.2 %, in 1961.
Southern Africa ranks 13th 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.
Land area equipped for irrigation — Share in Cropland in Southern Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 6.2 % | — |
| 1962 | 6.33 % | +2.1% |
| 1963 | 6.47 % | +2.2% |
| 1964 | 6.58 % | +1.7% |
| 1965 | 6.71 % | +2.0% |
| 1966 | 6.76 % | +0.7% |
| 1967 | 6.89 % | +1.9% |
| 1968 | 7.09 % | +2.9% |
| 1969 | 7.3 % | +3.0% |
| 1970 | 7.43 % | +1.8% |
| 1971 | 7.55 % | +1.6% |
| 1972 | 7.53 % | -0.3% |
| 1973 | 7.52 % | -0.1% |
| 1974 | 7.52 % | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 7.5 % | -0.3% |
| 1976 | 7.67 % | +2.3% |
| 1977 | 7.85 % | +2.3% |
| 1978 | 7.95 % | +1.3% |
| 1979 | 8.08 % | +1.6% |
| 1980 | 8.28 % | +2.5% |
| 1981 | 8.3 % | +0.2% |
| 1982 | 8.3 % | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 8.3 % | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 8.3 % | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 8.31 % | +0.1% |
| 1986 | 8.68 % | +4.5% |
| 1987 | 8.68 % | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 8.64 % | -0.5% |
| 1989 | 8.59 % | -0.6% |
| 1990 | 8.53 % | -0.7% |
| 1991 | 8.47 % | -0.7% |
| 1992 | 8.63 % | +1.9% |
| 1993 | 8.66 % | +0.3% |
| 1994 | 8.64 % | -0.2% |
| 1995 | 9.13 % | +5.7% |
| 1996 | 9.32 % | +2.1% |
| 1997 | 9.92 % | +6.4% |
| 1998 | 9.84 % | -0.8% |
| 1999 | 9.9 % | +0.6% |
| 2000 | 9.87 % | -0.3% |
| 2001 | 9.98 % | +1.1% |
| 2002 | 10.02 % | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 10.12 % | +1.0% |
| 2004 | 10.34 % | +2.2% |
| 2005 | 10.46 % | +1.2% |
| 2006 | 10.94 % | +4.6% |
| 2007 | 10.98 % | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 10.74 % | -2.2% |
| 2009 | 10.85 % | +1.0% |
| 2010 | 11 % | +1.4% |
| 2011 | 11.81 % | +7.4% |
| 2012 | 12.39 % | +4.9% |
| 2013 | 12.53 % | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 12.5 % | -0.2% |
| 2015 | 12.78 % | +2.2% |
| 2016 | 12.76 % | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 12.8 % | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 13.32 % | +4.1% |
| 2019 | 15.55 % | +16.7% |
| 2020 | 15.62 % | +0.5% |
| 2021 | 16.24 % | +4.0% |
| 2022 | 16.15 % | -0.6% |
| 2023 | 16.15 % | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 16.15 % | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 6.7 % | 6.2 % | 7.3 % | 9 |
| 1970s | 7.66 % | 7.43 % | 8.08 % | 10 |
| 1980s | 8.44 % | 8.28 % | 8.68 % | 10 |
| 1990s | 9.1 % | 8.47 % | 9.92 % | 10 |
| 2000s | 10.43 % | 9.87 % | 10.98 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.74 % | 11 % | 15.55 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 16.06 % | 15.62 % | 16.24 % | 5 |
Countries ranked near Southern Africa
- 11 Bangladesh 99.02 % compare
- 12 United Arab Emirates 96.22 % compare
- 13 Oman 95.24 % compare
- 14 Egypt 94.91 % compare
- 15 Israel 86.86 % compare
- 16 Kyrgyzstan 74.95 % compare
More environment data for Southern Africa
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 4.17 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 7.61 Percentage change (2025)
- Temperature change 0.892 °C (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.282 °C (2025)
- Wood fuel, coniferous — Production 770,000 m3 (2024)
- Industrial roundwood — Export quantity 427,327 m3 (2024)
- Industrial roundwood — Import value 35,013 1000 USD (2024)
- Industrial roundwood — Import quantity 161,260 m3 (2024)
- Industrial roundwood — Production 17.26 million m3 (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland in Southern Africa?
- Land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland in Southern Africa was 16.15 % 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 Southern Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 16.24 % in 2021.
- What is the lowest land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland recorded in Southern Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.2 % in 1961.
- How does Southern Africa rank for land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland?
- Southern Africa ranks 13th out of 31 groups with data for 2024.
- Is land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland rising or falling in Southern Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 29.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Southern 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 — 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.