Land use in Kenya
Kenya: Land use was 7.47 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Land use in Kenya, 1961–2023
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 Kenya is 7.47 million hectares, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 6.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Kenya peaked at 7.47 million hectares in 2023 and was at its lowest, 3.73 million hectares, in 1961.
That places Kenya 43rd out of 223 countries with data for 2023, putting it 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 | 3.76 million hectares | 3.73 million hectares | 3.79 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 4.02 million hectares | 3.80 million hectares | 4.28 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 4.70 million hectares | 4.13 million hectares | 5.72 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.55 million hectares | 5.18 million hectares | 5.94 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.68 million hectares | 5.43 million hectares | 6.01 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.94 million hectares | 6.09 million hectares | 7.37 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.42 million hectares | 7.39 million hectares | 7.47 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
More environment data for Kenya
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 102.84 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 1.82 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 50.02 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 3.41 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 7.97 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0511 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 64.93 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0034 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0653 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 3.4 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in Kenya?
- Land use in Kenya was 7.47 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 Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 7.47 million hectares in 2023.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.73 million hectares in 1961.
- How does Kenya rank for land use?
- Kenya ranks 43rd out of 223 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Kenya 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).