Land area equipped for irrigation — Share in Cropland in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Land area equipped for irrigation — Share in Cropland was 2.86 % in 2024. ▲ Rising
Land area equipped for irrigation — Share in Cropland in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland in Sub-Saharan Africa stood at 2.86 %.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 7.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 2.89 % in 2021 and was at its lowest, 1.51 %, in 1961.
Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 29th of 31 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Land area equipped for irrigation — Share in Cropland in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1.51 % | — |
| 1962 | 1.52 % | +0.7% |
| 1963 | 1.52 % | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 1.53 % | +0.7% |
| 1965 | 1.56 % | +2.0% |
| 1966 | 1.58 % | +1.3% |
| 1967 | 1.61 % | +1.9% |
| 1968 | 1.62 % | +0.6% |
| 1969 | 1.64 % | +1.2% |
| 1970 | 1.69 % | +3.0% |
| 1971 | 1.71 % | +1.2% |
| 1972 | 1.71 % | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 1.75 % | +2.3% |
| 1974 | 1.8 % | +2.9% |
| 1975 | 1.82 % | +1.1% |
| 1976 | 1.88 % | +3.3% |
| 1977 | 1.94 % | +3.2% |
| 1978 | 2.01 % | +3.6% |
| 1979 | 2.05 % | +2.0% |
| 1980 | 2.1 % | +2.4% |
| 1981 | 2.15 % | +2.4% |
| 1982 | 2.17 % | +0.9% |
| 1983 | 2.2 % | +1.4% |
| 1984 | 2.25 % | +2.3% |
| 1985 | 2.25 % | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 2.34 % | +4.0% |
| 1987 | 2.39 % | +2.1% |
| 1988 | 2.41 % | +0.8% |
| 1989 | 2.46 % | +2.1% |
| 1990 | 2.49 % | +1.2% |
| 1991 | 2.46 % | -1.2% |
| 1992 | 2.47 % | +0.4% |
| 1993 | 2.56 % | +3.6% |
| 1994 | 2.55 % | -0.4% |
| 1995 | 2.55 % | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 2.57 % | +0.8% |
| 1997 | 2.65 % | +3.1% |
| 1998 | 2.7 % | +1.9% |
| 1999 | 2.69 % | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 2.57 % | -4.5% |
| 2001 | 2.58 % | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 2.62 % | +1.6% |
| 2003 | 2.62 % | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 2.61 % | -0.4% |
| 2005 | 2.63 % | +0.8% |
| 2006 | 2.67 % | +1.5% |
| 2007 | 2.67 % | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 2.67 % | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 2.68 % | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 2.62 % | -2.2% |
| 2011 | 2.67 % | +1.9% |
| 2012 | 2.68 % | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 2.68 % | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 2.67 % | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 2.73 % | +2.2% |
| 2016 | 2.71 % | -0.7% |
| 2017 | 2.7 % | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 2.71 % | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 2.84 % | +4.8% |
| 2020 | 2.86 % | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 2.89 % | +1.0% |
| 2022 | 2.86 % | -1.0% |
| 2023 | 2.86 % | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 2.86 % | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.57 % | 1.51 % | 1.64 % | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.84 % | 1.69 % | 2.05 % | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.27 % | 2.1 % | 2.46 % | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.57 % | 2.46 % | 2.7 % | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.63 % | 2.57 % | 2.68 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.7 % | 2.62 % | 2.84 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.87 % | 2.86 % | 2.89 % | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
- 26 Chile 58.07 % compare
- 27 China, mainland 57.96 % compare
- 28 China 57.9 % compare
- 29 Albania 52.89 % compare
- 30 Ecuador 50.46 % compare
- 31 Netherlands (Kingdom of the) 50.29 % compare
- 32 China, Taiwan Province of 47.93 % compare
More environment data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -6.36 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -7.11 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 — Area 704,021 1000 ha (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland in Sub-Saharan Africa was 2.86 % 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 Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 2.89 % in 2021.
- What is the lowest land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.51 % in 1961.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 29th out of 31 groups with data for 2024.
- Is land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.1%. 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 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.