Land use in Ghana
Ghana: Land use was 7.42 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Land use in Ghana, 1961–2023
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 Ghana stood at 7.42 million hectares. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 9.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Ghana peaked at 7.42 million hectares in 2020 and was at its lowest, 3.30 million hectares, in 1961.
Ghana ranks 44th of 223 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.30 million hectares | 3.30 million hectares | 3.30 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 3.37 million hectares | 3.30 million hectares | 3.50 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.85 million hectares | 3.50 million hectares | 4.14 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.75 million hectares | 4.23 million hectares | 5.48 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.99 million hectares | 5.58 million hectares | 6.40 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.91 million hectares | 6.50 million hectares | 7.33 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.42 million hectares | 7.42 million hectares | 7.42 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Ghana
More environment data for Ghana
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 48.09 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 1.4 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 6.2 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.7908 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 7.72 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0127 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 18.11 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0108 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0685 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 3.3 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in Ghana?
- Land use in Ghana was 7.42 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 Ghana?
- The highest recorded value was 7.42 million hectares in 2020.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Ghana?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.30 million hectares in 1961.
- How does Ghana rank for land use?
- Ghana ranks 44th out of 223 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Ghana?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ghana 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).