Land use for palm oil production in Thailand
Thailand: Land use for palm oil production was 1.01 million hectares in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2024)
1.01 million hectares
Change on year
up 2.1%
World rank
4th
of 44 countries
All-time high
1.01 million hectares
in 2024
All-time low
950 hectares
in 1961
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Land use for palm oil production in Thailand, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
In 2024, land use for palm oil production in Thailand stood at 1.01 million hectares. That is the highest value across all 64 years on record.
The figure is up 2.1% on the previous year and up 57.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use for palm oil production in Thailand peaked at 1.01 million hectares in 2024 and was at its lowest, 950 hectares, in 1961.
Thailand ranks 4th of 44 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Land use for palm oil production in Thailand, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 950 hectares | — |
| 1962 | 950 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 950 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 950 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 950 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 950 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 950 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 950 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 950 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 950 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 950 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 950 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 1,800 hectares | +89.5% |
| 1974 | 1,800 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 5,100 hectares | +183.3% |
| 1976 | 3,440 hectares | -32.5% |
| 1977 | 3,760 hectares | +9.3% |
| 1978 | 5,616 hectares | +49.4% |
| 1979 | 7,616 hectares | +35.6% |
| 1980 | 11,136 hectares | +46.2% |
| 1981 | 15,104 hectares | +35.6% |
| 1982 | 24,752 hectares | +63.9% |
| 1983 | 36,272 hectares | +46.5% |
| 1984 | 45,280 hectares | +24.8% |
| 1985 | 53,255 hectares | +17.6% |
| 1986 | 59,981 hectares | +12.6% |
| 1987 | 69,158 hectares | +15.3% |
| 1988 | 82,774 hectares | +19.7% |
| 1989 | 90,880 hectares | +9.8% |
| 1990 | 96,000 hectares | +5.6% |
| 1991 | 103,108 hectares | +7.4% |
| 1992 | 105,908 hectares | +2.7% |
| 1993 | 133,452 hectares | +26.0% |
| 1994 | 139,160 hectares | +4.3% |
| 1995 | 153,422 hectares | +10.2% |
| 1996 | 166,915 hectares | +8.8% |
| 1997 | 177,492 hectares | +6.3% |
| 1998 | 205,489 hectares | +15.8% |
| 1999 | 215,220 hectares | +4.7% |
| 2000 | 230,053 hectares | +6.9% |
| 2001 | 242,852 hectares | +5.6% |
| 2002 | 263,018 hectares | +8.3% |
| 2003 | 287,903 hectares | +9.5% |
| 2004 | 309,165 hectares | +7.4% |
| 2005 | 324,193 hectares | +4.9% |
| 2006 | 379,872 hectares | +17.2% |
| 2007 | 426,120 hectares | +12.2% |
| 2008 | 461,555 hectares | +8.3% |
| 2009 | 510,003 hectares | +10.5% |
| 2010 | 541,569 hectares | +6.2% |
| 2011 | 570,474 hectares | +5.3% |
| 2012 | 592,081 hectares | +3.8% |
| 2013 | 603,700 hectares | +2.0% |
| 2014 | 643,811 hectares | +6.6% |
| 2015 | 648,198 hectares | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 632,072 hectares | -2.5% |
| 2017 | 797,128 hectares | +26.1% |
| 2018 | 856,422 hectares | +7.4% |
| 2019 | 906,080 hectares | +5.8% |
| 2020 | 939,324 hectares | +3.7% |
| 2021 | 965,447 hectares | +2.8% |
| 2022 | 981,561 hectares | +1.7% |
| 2023 | 993,677 hectares | +1.2% |
| 2024 | 1.01 million hectares | +2.1% |
Thailand compared with similar countries
- Thailand's 1.01 million hectares is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 101,305 hectares, 10.0× the median. (16 countries reporting)
- Thailand's 1.01 million hectares is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 175,126 hectares, 5.8× the median. (8 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Land use for palm oil production in Thailand 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | +183.3% | 1,800 hectares | 5,100 hectares |
| 1973 | +89.5% | 950 hectares | 1,800 hectares |
| 1982 | +63.9% | 15,104 hectares | 24,752 hectares |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 950 hectares | 950 hectares | 950 hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 3,198 hectares | 950 hectares | 7,616 hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 48,859 hectares | 11,136 hectares | 90,880 hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 149,617 hectares | 96,000 hectares | 215,220 hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 343,473 hectares | 230,053 hectares | 510,003 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 679,154 hectares | 541,569 hectares | 906,080 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 978,990 hectares | 939,324 hectares | 1.01 million hectares | 5 |
Countries ranked near Thailand
More environment data for Thailand
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 1.44 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 1.54 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.306 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.01 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 8.48 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.85 % 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 0.1009 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use for palm oil production in Thailand?
- Land use for palm oil production in Thailand was 1.01 million hectares in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest land use for palm oil production recorded in Thailand?
- The highest recorded value was 1.01 million hectares in 2024.
- What is the lowest land use for palm oil production recorded in Thailand?
- The lowest recorded value was 950 hectares in 1961.
- How does Thailand rank for land use for palm oil production?
- Thailand ranks 4th out of 44 countries with data for 2024.
- Is land use for palm oil production rising or falling in Thailand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 57.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Thailand data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Land use for palm oil production. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).