Land use in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: Land use was 18.46 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
18.46 million hectares
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
19th
of 224 countries
All-time high
18.77 million hectares
in 2021
All-time low
10.45 million hectares
in 1998
Years of data
31
1993–2023
Land use in Ethiopia, 1993–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
In 2023, land use in Ethiopia stood at 18.46 million hectares.
The figure is up 10.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Ethiopia peaked at 18.77 million hectares in 2021 and was at its lowest, 10.45 million hectares, in 1998.
Ethiopia ranks 19th of 224 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 31 years of available data.
Land use in Ethiopia, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 10.54 million hectares | — |
| 1994 | 10.47 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 1995 | 10.50 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1996 | 10.50 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 10.49 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1998 | 10.45 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 10.56 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 2000 | 10.53 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 2001 | 10.56 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 10.50 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 2003 | 11.61 million hectares | +10.6% |
| 2004 | 13.10 million hectares | +12.9% |
| 2005 | 13.59 million hectares | +3.7% |
| 2006 | 14.22 million hectares | +4.6% |
| 2007 | 15.08 million hectares | +6.0% |
| 2008 | 14.51 million hectares | -3.7% |
| 2009 | 14.98 million hectares | +3.3% |
| 2010 | 15.68 million hectares | +4.7% |
| 2011 | 16.33 million hectares | +4.1% |
| 2012 | 16.49 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 16.78 million hectares | +1.8% |
| 2014 | 16.96 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 2015 | 17.20 million hectares | +1.5% |
| 2016 | 17.36 million hectares | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 17.54 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 2018 | 17.90 million hectares | +2.1% |
| 2019 | 18.19 million hectares | +1.6% |
| 2020 | 18.48 million hectares | +1.6% |
| 2021 | 18.77 million hectares | +1.6% |
| 2022 | 18.46 million hectares | -1.7% |
| 2023 | 18.46 million hectares | +0.0% |
Ethiopia compared with similar countries
- Ethiopia's 18.46 million hectares is above the median for low income countries, which is 3.60 million hectares, 5.1× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Ethiopia's 18.46 million hectares is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.21 million hectares, 5.7× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 10.50 million hectares | 10.45 million hectares | 10.56 million hectares | 7 |
| 2000s | 12.87 million hectares | 10.50 million hectares | 15.08 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 17.04 million hectares | 15.68 million hectares | 18.19 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 18.54 million hectares | 18.46 million hectares | 18.77 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Ethiopia
More environment data for Ethiopia
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.272 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.39 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.26 % 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 2.83 % 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 0.1478 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in Ethiopia?
- Land use in Ethiopia was 18.46 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 Ethiopia?
- The highest recorded value was 18.77 million hectares in 2021.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Ethiopia?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.45 million hectares in 1998.
- How does Ethiopia rank for land use?
- Ethiopia ranks 19th out of 224 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Ethiopia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ethiopia 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.
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CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).