Land use in Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso: Land use was 8.61 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
8.61 million hectares
Change on year
up 0.2%
World rank
39th
of 224 countries
All-time high
8.61 million hectares
in 2023
All-time low
3.02 million hectares
in 1961
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Land use in Burkina Faso, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Burkina Faso recorded 8.61 million hectares for land use in 2023. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
The figure is up 0.2% on the previous year and up 20.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Burkina Faso peaked at 8.61 million hectares in 2023 and was at its lowest, 3.02 million hectares, in 1961.
Burkina Faso ranks 39th of 224 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Land use in Burkina Faso, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 3.02 million hectares | — |
| 1962 | 3.02 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 3.02 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 3.02 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1965 | 3.02 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 3.02 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 3.02 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 3.02 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 3.02 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 3.02 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 3.02 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 3.02 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 3.02 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 3.02 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 3.03 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1976 | 3.04 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1977 | 3.04 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 3.04 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 3.04 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 3.04 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1981 | 3.04 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1982 | 3.04 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 3.05 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1984 | 3.18 million hectares | +4.3% |
| 1985 | 3.31 million hectares | +4.0% |
| 1986 | 3.44 million hectares | +4.0% |
| 1987 | 3.57 million hectares | +3.8% |
| 1988 | 3.70 million hectares | +3.7% |
| 1989 | 3.82 million hectares | +3.4% |
| 1990 | 3.95 million hectares | +3.3% |
| 1991 | 4.08 million hectares | +3.2% |
| 1992 | 4.20 million hectares | +3.1% |
| 1993 | 4.33 million hectares | +3.0% |
| 1994 | 4.45 million hectares | +2.9% |
| 1995 | 4.58 million hectares | +2.8% |
| 1996 | 4.71 million hectares | +2.7% |
| 1997 | 4.83 million hectares | +2.7% |
| 1998 | 4.96 million hectares | +2.6% |
| 1999 | 5.08 million hectares | +2.5% |
| 2000 | 5.21 million hectares | +2.5% |
| 2001 | 5.34 million hectares | +2.5% |
| 2002 | 5.47 million hectares | +2.4% |
| 2003 | 5.60 million hectares | +2.3% |
| 2004 | 5.74 million hectares | +2.6% |
| 2005 | 5.88 million hectares | +2.5% |
| 2006 | 6.02 million hectares | +2.3% |
| 2007 | 6.15 million hectares | +2.2% |
| 2008 | 6.29 million hectares | +2.2% |
| 2009 | 6.43 million hectares | +2.3% |
| 2010 | 6.59 million hectares | +2.5% |
| 2011 | 6.79 million hectares | +3.1% |
| 2012 | 6.95 million hectares | +2.3% |
| 2013 | 7.16 million hectares | +3.1% |
| 2014 | 7.32 million hectares | +2.2% |
| 2015 | 7.49 million hectares | +2.3% |
| 2016 | 7.63 million hectares | +1.9% |
| 2017 | 7.78 million hectares | +1.9% |
| 2018 | 8.01 million hectares | +2.9% |
| 2019 | 8.14 million hectares | +1.6% |
| 2020 | 8.27 million hectares | +1.6% |
| 2021 | 8.41 million hectares | +1.7% |
| 2022 | 8.60 million hectares | +2.2% |
| 2023 | 8.61 million hectares | +0.2% |
Burkina Faso compared with similar countries
- Burkina Faso's 8.61 million hectares is above the median for low income countries, which is 3.60 million hectares, 2.4× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Burkina Faso's 8.61 million hectares is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.21 million hectares, 2.7× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.02 million hectares | 3.02 million hectares | 3.02 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 3.03 million hectares | 3.02 million hectares | 3.04 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.32 million hectares | 3.04 million hectares | 3.82 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.52 million hectares | 3.95 million hectares | 5.08 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.81 million hectares | 5.21 million hectares | 6.43 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.39 million hectares | 6.59 million hectares | 8.14 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.47 million hectares | 8.27 million hectares | 8.61 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Burkina Faso
More environment data for Burkina Faso
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -7.27 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -7.18 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.331 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.25 °C (2025)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.1598 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 7.69 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in Burkina Faso?
- Land use in Burkina Faso was 8.61 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 Burkina Faso?
- The highest recorded value was 8.61 million hectares in 2023.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Burkina Faso?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.02 million hectares in 1961.
- How does Burkina Faso rank for land use?
- Burkina Faso ranks 39th out of 224 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Burkina Faso?
- Over the last ten years it is up 20.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Burkina Faso 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).