Land use in Eswatini
Eswatini: Land use was 195,000 hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
195,000 hectares
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
145th
of 224 countries
All-time high
204,000 hectares
in 1989
All-time low
126,000 hectares
in 1961
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Land use in Eswatini, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Eswatini recorded 195,000 hectares for land use in 2023.
The figure is up 1.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Eswatini peaked at 204,000 hectares in 1989 and was at its lowest, 126,000 hectares, in 1961.
Eswatini ranks 145th of 224 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.
Land use in Eswatini, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 126,000 hectares | — |
| 1962 | 136,000 hectares | +7.9% |
| 1963 | 132,000 hectares | -2.9% |
| 1964 | 135,000 hectares | +2.3% |
| 1965 | 142,000 hectares | +5.2% |
| 1966 | 151,000 hectares | +6.3% |
| 1967 | 155,000 hectares | +2.6% |
| 1968 | 156,000 hectares | +0.6% |
| 1969 | 152,000 hectares | -2.6% |
| 1970 | 152,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 152,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 171,000 hectares | +12.5% |
| 1973 | 171,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 158,000 hectares | -7.6% |
| 1975 | 170,000 hectares | +7.6% |
| 1976 | 165,000 hectares | -2.9% |
| 1977 | 153,000 hectares | -7.3% |
| 1978 | 194,000 hectares | +26.8% |
| 1979 | 190,000 hectares | -2.1% |
| 1980 | 189,000 hectares | -0.5% |
| 1981 | 142,000 hectares | -24.9% |
| 1982 | 141,000 hectares | -0.7% |
| 1983 | 141,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 179,000 hectares | +27.0% |
| 1985 | 164,000 hectares | -8.4% |
| 1986 | 164,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 177,000 hectares | +7.9% |
| 1988 | 190,000 hectares | +7.3% |
| 1989 | 204,000 hectares | +7.4% |
| 1990 | 192,000 hectares | -5.9% |
| 1991 | 195,000 hectares | +1.6% |
| 1992 | 191,000 hectares | -2.1% |
| 1993 | 190,000 hectares | -0.5% |
| 1994 | 190,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 190,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 190,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 191,000 hectares | +0.5% |
| 1998 | 191,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 191,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 191,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 192,000 hectares | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 192,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 192,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 192,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 192,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 191,000 hectares | -0.5% |
| 2007 | 191,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 191,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 192,000 hectares | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 193,000 hectares | +0.5% |
| 2011 | 193,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 193,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 193,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 194,000 hectares | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 194,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 194,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 194,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 195,000 hectares | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 195,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 195,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 195,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 195,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 195,000 hectares | +0.0% |
Eswatini compared with similar countries
- Eswatini's 195,000 hectares is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 2.82 million hectares, 7% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Eswatini's 195,000 hectares is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.21 million hectares, 6% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Land use in Eswatini changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | +27.0% | 141,000 hectares | 179,000 hectares |
| 1978 | +26.8% | 153,000 hectares | 194,000 hectares |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 142,778 hectares | 126,000 hectares | 156,000 hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 167,600 hectares | 152,000 hectares | 194,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 169,100 hectares | 141,000 hectares | 204,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 191,100 hectares | 190,000 hectares | 195,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 191,600 hectares | 191,000 hectares | 192,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 193,800 hectares | 193,000 hectares | 195,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 195,000 hectares | 195,000 hectares | 195,000 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Eswatini
More environment data for Eswatini
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.321 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.02 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.2772 % 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 -2.19 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), annual 0 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in Eswatini?
- Land use in Eswatini was 195,000 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 Eswatini?
- The highest recorded value was 204,000 hectares in 1989.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Eswatini?
- The lowest recorded value was 126,000 hectares in 1961.
- How does Eswatini rank for land use?
- Eswatini ranks 145th out of 224 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Eswatini?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Eswatini 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).