Land use in Afghanistan
Afghanistan: Land use was 8.12 million hectares in 2023. ▬ Flat
Land use in Afghanistan, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
The most recent figure for land use in Afghanistan is 8.12 million hectares, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
The figure is up 0.8% on the previous year and up 2.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Afghanistan peaked at 8.12 million hectares in 2023 and was at its lowest, 7.75 million hectares, in 1961.
That places Afghanistan 41st out of 223 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 7.90 million hectares | 7.75 million hectares | 8.00 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 8.04 million hectares | 8.01 million hectares | 8.05 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 8.05 million hectares | 8.04 million hectares | 8.05 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 7.88 million hectares | 7.76 million hectares | 8.04 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.88 million hectares | 7.79 million hectares | 7.93 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.93 million hectares | 7.91 million hectares | 8.01 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.07 million hectares | 8.05 million hectares | 8.12 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Afghanistan
More environment data for Afghanistan
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 33.03 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 0.7746 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 12.48 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.2033 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 1.5 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0094 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 16.25 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0035 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.026 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 2.03 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in Afghanistan?
- Land use in Afghanistan was 8.12 million hectares in 2023, 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 recorded in Afghanistan?
- The highest recorded value was 8.12 million hectares in 2023.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Afghanistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.75 million hectares in 1961.
- How does Afghanistan rank for land use?
- Afghanistan ranks 41st out of 223 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Afghanistan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Afghanistan 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. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).