Land use in Congo
Congo: Land use was 651,400 hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
651,400 hectares
Change on year
up 0.0%
World rank
125th
of 223 countries
All-time high
672,600 hectares
in 2021
All-time low
513,869 hectares
in 1994
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Land use in 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
Congo recorded 651,400 hectares for land use in 2023.
That represents a change of up 3.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Congo peaked at 672,600 hectares in 2021 and was at its lowest, 513,869 hectares, in 1994.
Congo ranks 125th of 223 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 545,622 hectares | 543,000 hectares | 550,450 hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 547,875 hectares | 517,984 hectares | 562,927 hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 545,163 hectares | 521,925 hectares | 563,850 hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 524,946 hectares | 513,869 hectares | 543,665 hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 546,065 hectares | 539,829 hectares | 563,215 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 620,105 hectares | 575,404 hectares | 657,800 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 654,500 hectares | 642,700 hectares | 672,600 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Congo
- 122 Eritrea 692,000 hectares compare
- 123 Panama 680,966 hectares compare
- 124 Albania 678,500 hectares compare
- 126 Guinea-Bissau 645,530 hectares compare
- 127 New Zealand 592,000 hectares compare
- 128 Costa Rica 544,348 hectares compare
More environment data for Congo
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 24.62 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 3.89 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 0.4604 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.4601 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 13.3 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0013 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 14.96 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0052 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0073 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 0.7254 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in Congo?
- Land use in Congo was 651,400 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 Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 672,600 hectares in 2021.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 513,869 hectares in 1994.
- How does Congo rank for land use?
- Congo ranks 125th out of 223 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this 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).