Land use in Benin
Benin: Land use was 4.17 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
4.17 million hectares
Change on year
down 3.2%
World rank
64th
of 224 countries
All-time high
4.31 million hectares
in 2022
All-time low
972,560 hectares
in 1961
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Land use in Benin, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Benin recorded 4.17 million hectares for land use in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.2% on the previous year and up 21.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Benin peaked at 4.31 million hectares in 2022 and was at its lowest, 972,560 hectares, in 1961.
That places Benin 64th out of 224 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Land use in Benin, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 972,560 hectares | — |
| 1962 | 993,150 hectares | +2.1% |
| 1963 | 1.01 million hectares | +2.1% |
| 1964 | 1.03 million hectares | +1.8% |
| 1965 | 1.05 million hectares | +2.1% |
| 1966 | 1.08 million hectares | +2.8% |
| 1967 | 1.13 million hectares | +4.0% |
| 1968 | 1.16 million hectares | +2.7% |
| 1969 | 1.24 million hectares | +7.3% |
| 1970 | 1.26 million hectares | +1.7% |
| 1971 | 1.31 million hectares | +3.9% |
| 1972 | 1.34 million hectares | +2.4% |
| 1973 | 1.36 million hectares | +1.4% |
| 1974 | 1.39 million hectares | +2.0% |
| 1975 | 1.43 million hectares | +2.9% |
| 1976 | 1.46 million hectares | +1.9% |
| 1977 | 1.49 million hectares | +2.3% |
| 1978 | 1.51 million hectares | +1.4% |
| 1979 | 1.53 million hectares | +1.3% |
| 1980 | 1.56 million hectares | +2.0% |
| 1981 | 1.59 million hectares | +2.0% |
| 1982 | 1.63 million hectares | +2.0% |
| 1983 | 1.62 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1984 | 1.64 million hectares | +1.2% |
| 1985 | 1.68 million hectares | +2.0% |
| 1986 | 1.69 million hectares | +0.6% |
| 1987 | 1.70 million hectares | +0.6% |
| 1988 | 1.71 million hectares | +0.6% |
| 1989 | 1.71 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 1990 | 1.71 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1991 | 1.72 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1992 | 1.74 million hectares | +1.3% |
| 1993 | 1.78 million hectares | +2.0% |
| 1994 | 1.84 million hectares | +3.4% |
| 1995 | 1.96 million hectares | +6.9% |
| 1996 | 2.15 million hectares | +9.7% |
| 1997 | 2.34 million hectares | +8.6% |
| 1998 | 2.49 million hectares | +6.5% |
| 1999 | 2.56 million hectares | +2.6% |
| 2000 | 2.64 million hectares | +3.4% |
| 2001 | 2.71 million hectares | +2.6% |
| 2002 | 2.82 million hectares | +4.0% |
| 2003 | 2.92 million hectares | +3.7% |
| 2004 | 2.91 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 2005 | 2.92 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 2.79 million hectares | -4.6% |
| 2007 | 2.83 million hectares | +1.4% |
| 2008 | 3.03 million hectares | +7.2% |
| 2009 | 3.19 million hectares | +5.2% |
| 2010 | 2.94 million hectares | -7.9% |
| 2011 | 3.07 million hectares | +4.5% |
| 2012 | 3.22 million hectares | +4.8% |
| 2013 | 3.43 million hectares | +6.7% |
| 2014 | 3.45 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 3.52 million hectares | +2.2% |
| 2016 | 3.33 million hectares | -5.6% |
| 2017 | 3.54 million hectares | +6.5% |
| 2018 | 3.91 million hectares | +10.4% |
| 2019 | 4.08 million hectares | +4.4% |
| 2020 | 3.88 million hectares | -4.9% |
| 2021 | 4.07 million hectares | +4.9% |
| 2022 | 4.31 million hectares | +5.7% |
| 2023 | 4.17 million hectares | -3.2% |
Benin compared with similar countries
- Benin's 4.17 million hectares is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 2.82 million hectares, 1.5× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Benin's 4.17 million hectares is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.21 million hectares, 1.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.08 million hectares | 972,560 hectares | 1.24 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.41 million hectares | 1.26 million hectares | 1.53 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.65 million hectares | 1.56 million hectares | 1.71 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.03 million hectares | 1.71 million hectares | 2.56 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.88 million hectares | 2.64 million hectares | 3.19 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.45 million hectares | 2.94 million hectares | 4.08 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.11 million hectares | 3.88 million hectares | 4.31 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Benin
More environment data for Benin
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -9.6 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -10.11 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.268 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.29 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.38 % 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 2.92 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in Benin?
- Land use in Benin was 4.17 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 Benin?
- The highest recorded value was 4.31 million hectares in 2022.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Benin?
- The lowest recorded value was 972,560 hectares in 1961.
- How does Benin rank for land use?
- Benin ranks 64th out of 224 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Benin?
- Over the last ten years it is up 21.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Benin 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).