Land use in Jamaica
Jamaica: Land use was 188,000 hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
188,000 hectares
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
147th
of 224 countries
All-time high
276,000 hectares
in 1961
All-time low
188,000 hectares
in 2015
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Land use in Jamaica, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Jamaica recorded 188,000 hectares for land use in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Jamaica peaked at 276,000 hectares in 1961 and was at its lowest, 188,000 hectares, in 2015.
That places Jamaica 147th out of 224 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Land use in Jamaica, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 276,000 hectares | — |
| 1962 | 276,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 276,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 276,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 260,000 hectares | -5.8% |
| 1966 | 260,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 260,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 260,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 260,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 250,000 hectares | -3.8% |
| 1971 | 250,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 250,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 250,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 250,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 250,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 250,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 250,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 250,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 240,000 hectares | -4.0% |
| 1980 | 240,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 240,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 230,000 hectares | -4.2% |
| 1983 | 220,000 hectares | -4.3% |
| 1984 | 220,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 220,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 220,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 220,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 220,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 220,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 219,000 hectares | -0.5% |
| 1991 | 226,000 hectares | +3.2% |
| 1992 | 236,000 hectares | +4.4% |
| 1993 | 274,000 hectares | +16.1% |
| 1994 | 271,000 hectares | -1.1% |
| 1995 | 268,000 hectares | -1.1% |
| 1996 | 265,000 hectares | -1.1% |
| 1997 | 260,000 hectares | -1.9% |
| 1998 | 255,000 hectares | -1.9% |
| 1999 | 253,000 hectares | -0.8% |
| 2000 | 250,000 hectares | -1.2% |
| 2001 | 250,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 245,000 hectares | -2.0% |
| 2003 | 245,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 243,000 hectares | -0.8% |
| 2005 | 238,000 hectares | -2.1% |
| 2006 | 238,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 235,000 hectares | -1.3% |
| 2008 | 220,000 hectares | -6.4% |
| 2009 | 217,000 hectares | -1.4% |
| 2010 | 192,300 hectares | -11.4% |
| 2011 | 191,500 hectares | -0.4% |
| 2012 | 190,800 hectares | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 189,800 hectares | -0.5% |
| 2014 | 188,900 hectares | -0.5% |
| 2015 | 188,000 hectares | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 188,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 188,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 188,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 188,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 188,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 188,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 188,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 188,000 hectares | +0.0% |
Jamaica compared with similar countries
- Jamaica's 188,000 hectares is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.58 million hectares, 12% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Jamaica's 188,000 hectares is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 544,348 hectares, 35% of the median. (39 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 267,111 hectares | 260,000 hectares | 276,000 hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 249,000 hectares | 240,000 hectares | 250,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 225,000 hectares | 220,000 hectares | 240,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 252,700 hectares | 219,000 hectares | 274,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 238,100 hectares | 217,000 hectares | 250,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 189,330 hectares | 188,000 hectares | 192,300 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 188,000 hectares | 188,000 hectares | 188,000 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Jamaica
More environment data for Jamaica
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -2.93 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -3.15 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.284 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.76 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 4.23 % 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 -0.7158 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in Jamaica?
- Land use in Jamaica was 188,000 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 Jamaica?
- The highest recorded value was 276,000 hectares in 1961.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Jamaica?
- The lowest recorded value was 188,000 hectares in 2015.
- How does Jamaica rank for land use?
- Jamaica ranks 147th out of 224 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Jamaica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Jamaica 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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