Land use in Eritrea
Eritrea: Land use was 692,000 hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
692,000 hectares
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
123rd
of 224 countries
All-time high
692,000 hectares
in 2009
All-time low
371,000 hectares
in 1996
Years of data
31
1993–2023
Land use in Eritrea, 1993–2023
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 Eritrea is 692,000 hectares, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Eritrea peaked at 692,000 hectares in 2009 and was at its lowest, 371,000 hectares, in 1996.
That places Eritrea 123rd 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 31 years of available data.
Land use in Eritrea, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 500,000 hectares | — |
| 1994 | 439,000 hectares | -12.2% |
| 1995 | 440,000 hectares | +0.2% |
| 1996 | 371,000 hectares | -15.7% |
| 1997 | 393,000 hectares | +5.9% |
| 1998 | 500,000 hectares | +27.2% |
| 1999 | 500,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 563,000 hectares | +12.6% |
| 2001 | 565,000 hectares | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 565,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 600,000 hectares | +6.2% |
| 2004 | 600,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 622,000 hectares | +3.7% |
| 2006 | 672,000 hectares | +8.0% |
| 2007 | 672,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 672,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 692,000 hectares | +3.0% |
| 2010 | 692,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 692,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 692,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 692,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 692,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 692,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 692,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 692,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 692,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 692,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 692,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 692,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 692,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 692,000 hectares | +0.0% |
Eritrea compared with similar countries
- Eritrea's 692,000 hectares is below the median for low income countries, which is 3.60 million hectares, 19% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Eritrea's 692,000 hectares is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.21 million hectares, 22% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 449,000 hectares | 371,000 hectares | 500,000 hectares | 7 |
| 2000s | 622,300 hectares | 563,000 hectares | 692,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 692,000 hectares | 692,000 hectares | 692,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 692,000 hectares | 692,000 hectares | 692,000 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Eritrea
More environment data for Eritrea
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -12.24 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -10.14 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 57.1 % change on previous year (2023)
- Standard Deviation 0.531 °C (2023)
- Temperature change 0.012 °C (2023)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.6471 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2011)
- 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 0.3665 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2011)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in Eritrea?
- Land use in Eritrea was 692,000 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 Eritrea?
- The highest recorded value was 692,000 hectares in 2009.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Eritrea?
- The lowest recorded value was 371,000 hectares in 1996.
- How does Eritrea rank for land use?
- Eritrea ranks 123rd out of 224 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Eritrea?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Eritrea 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 — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).