What is land use over the long-term in Malawi?

Land use over the long-term in Malawi was 1.85 million hectares in 2025, according to HYDE (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.

What is the highest land use over the long-term recorded in Malawi?

The highest recorded value was 1.92 million hectares in 1850.

What is the lowest land use over the long-term recorded in Malawi?

The lowest recorded value was 229,530 hectares in 1000.

How does Malawi rank for land use over the long-term?

Malawi ranks 88th out of 202 countries with data for 2025.

Is land use over the long-term rising or falling in Malawi?

Over the last ten years it is down 0.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this Malawi data come from?

The figures come from HYDE (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Land use over the long-term. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Land use over the long-term in Malawi

Name: Land use over the long-term in Malawi
Creator: HYDE (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Malawi: Land use over the long-term was 1.85 million hectares in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)

1.85 million hectares

Change on year

down 0.0%

World rank

88th

of 202 countries

All-time high

1.92 million hectares

in 1850

All-time low

229,530 hectares

in 1000

Years of data

108

1000–2025

Land use over the long-term in Malawi, 1000–2025

Source: HYDE (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.

Analysis

The most recent figure for land use over the long-term in Malawi is 1.85 million hectares, measured in 2025.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, land use over the long-term in Malawi peaked at 1.92 million hectares in 1850 and was at its lowest, 229,530 hectares, in 1000.

That places Malawi 88th out of 202 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 108 years of available data.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1000s	229,530 hectares	229,530 hectares	229,530 hectares	1
1100s	275,436 hectares	275,436 hectares	275,436 hectares	1
1200s	321,342 hectares	321,342 hectares	321,342 hectares	1
1300s	367,247 hectares	367,247 hectares	367,247 hectares	1
1400s	413,153 hectares	413,153 hectares	413,153 hectares	1
1500s	459,059 hectares	459,059 hectares	459,059 hectares	1
1600s	498,079 hectares	498,079 hectares	498,079 hectares	1
1700s	537,099 hectares	537,099 hectares	537,099 hectares	1
1710s	690,639 hectares	690,639 hectares	690,639 hectares	1
1720s	844,179 hectares	844,179 hectares	844,179 hectares	1
1730s	997,719 hectares	997,719 hectares	997,719 hectares	1
1740s	1.15 million hectares	1.15 million hectares	1.15 million hectares	1
1750s	1.30 million hectares	1.30 million hectares	1.30 million hectares	1
1760s	1.40 million hectares	1.40 million hectares	1.40 million hectares	1
1770s	1.49 million hectares	1.49 million hectares	1.49 million hectares	1
1780s	1.57 million hectares	1.57 million hectares	1.57 million hectares	1
1790s	1.64 million hectares	1.64 million hectares	1.64 million hectares	1
1800s	1.70 million hectares	1.70 million hectares	1.70 million hectares	1
1810s	1.76 million hectares	1.76 million hectares	1.76 million hectares	1
1820s	1.81 million hectares	1.81 million hectares	1.81 million hectares	1
1830s	1.85 million hectares	1.85 million hectares	1.85 million hectares	1
1840s	1.89 million hectares	1.89 million hectares	1.89 million hectares	1
1850s	1.92 million hectares	1.92 million hectares	1.92 million hectares	1
1860s	1.84 million hectares	1.84 million hectares	1.84 million hectares	1
1870s	1.75 million hectares	1.75 million hectares	1.75 million hectares	1
1880s	1.66 million hectares	1.66 million hectares	1.66 million hectares	1
1890s	1.62 million hectares	1.62 million hectares	1.62 million hectares	1
1900s	1.49 million hectares	1.49 million hectares	1.49 million hectares	1
1910s	1.32 million hectares	1.32 million hectares	1.32 million hectares	1
1920s	1.22 million hectares	1.22 million hectares	1.22 million hectares	1
1930s	1.37 million hectares	1.37 million hectares	1.37 million hectares	1
1940s	1.51 million hectares	1.51 million hectares	1.51 million hectares	1
1950s	1.76 million hectares	1.73 million hectares	1.77 million hectares	10
1960s	1.83 million hectares	1.78 million hectares	1.84 million hectares	10
1970s	1.84 million hectares	1.84 million hectares	1.84 million hectares	10
1980s	1.84 million hectares	1.84 million hectares	1.84 million hectares	10
1990s	1.84 million hectares	1.84 million hectares	1.85 million hectares	10
2000s	1.85 million hectares	1.85 million hectares	1.85 million hectares	10
2010s	1.85 million hectares	1.85 million hectares	1.85 million hectares	10
2020s	1.85 million hectares	1.85 million hectares	1.85 million hectares	6

Countries ranked near Malawi

85 Cameroon 2.00 million hectares compare
86 Georgia 1.94 million hectares compare
87 Guatemala 1.90 million hectares compare
89 Nepal 1.80 million hectares compare
90 Iceland 1.75 million hectares compare
91 Djibouti 1.70 million hectares compare

See the full ranking of 202 places →

More environment data for Malawi

Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 19.02 Mt CO2e (2024)
Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 0.8785 t CO2e/capita (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 5.42 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.7527 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 1.9 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0074 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 9.34 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0006 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0087 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 1.25 Mt CO2e (2024)

All data for Malawi →

Frequently asked questions

What is land use over the long-term in Malawi?: Land use over the long-term in Malawi was 1.85 million hectares in 2025, according to HYDE (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest land use over the long-term recorded in Malawi?: The highest recorded value was 1.92 million hectares in 1850.
What is the lowest land use over the long-term recorded in Malawi?: The lowest recorded value was 229,530 hectares in 1000.
How does Malawi rank for land use over the long-term?: Malawi ranks 88th out of 202 countries with data for 2025.
Is land use over the long-term rising or falling in Malawi?: Over the last ten years it is down 0.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Malawi data come from?: The figures come from HYDE (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Land use over the long-term. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 108 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator: Land use over the long-term
Unit: hectares
Source: HYDE (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 202 places, 21,816 data points, 1000–2025
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Total grazingland area for each separate country over time.