Land use in Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo: Land use was 16.90 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Land use in Democratic Republic of Congo, 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 Democratic Republic of Congo is 16.90 million hectares, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
The figure is up 2.4% on the previous year and up 27.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 16.90 million hectares in 2023 and was at its lowest, 6.95 million hectares, in 1961.
That places Democratic Republic of Congo 22nd out of 223 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 7.06 million hectares | 6.95 million hectares | 7.20 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 7.43 million hectares | 7.25 million hectares | 7.55 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 7.76 million hectares | 7.60 million hectares | 7.85 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 7.75 million hectares | 7.50 million hectares | 7.90 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.58 million hectares | 7.45 million hectares | 8.69 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 13.65 million hectares | 10.23 million hectares | 15.64 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 16.19 million hectares | 15.68 million hectares | 16.90 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo
More environment data for Democratic Republic of Congo
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 58.49 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 0.5353 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 3.5 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 7.67 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 17.49 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0166 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 42.16 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0035 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.024 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 13.45 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Land use in Democratic Republic of Congo was 16.90 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 Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 16.90 million hectares in 2023.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.95 million hectares in 1961.
- How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for land use?
- Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 22nd out of 223 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is up 27.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo 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).