Land use in Kiribati
Kiribati: Land use was 34,000 hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Land use in Kiribati, 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 Kiribati is 34,000 hectares, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Kiribati peaked at 43,000 hectares in 1963 and was at its lowest, 34,000 hectares, in 1998.
That places Kiribati 168th out of 223 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 40,444 hectares | 38,000 hectares | 43,000 hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 38,000 hectares | 38,000 hectares | 38,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 38,600 hectares | 38,000 hectares | 39,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 37,000 hectares | 34,000 hectares | 39,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 34,000 hectares | 34,000 hectares | 34,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 34,000 hectares | 34,000 hectares | 34,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 34,000 hectares | 34,000 hectares | 34,000 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Kiribati
- 165 Trinidad and Tobago 47,000 hectares compare
- 166 Samoa 42,420 hectares compare
- 167 Sao Tome and Principe 42,000 hectares compare
- 169 Tonga 31,000 hectares compare
- 170 Reunion 28,665 hectares compare
- 171 French Polynesia 28,500 hectares compare
More environment data for Kiribati
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 0.1152 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 0.8564 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 0.0033 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.0004 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 0.0013 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 0.0284 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0001 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 0.0233 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in Kiribati?
- Land use in Kiribati was 34,000 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 Kiribati?
- The highest recorded value was 43,000 hectares in 1963.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Kiribati?
- The lowest recorded value was 34,000 hectares in 1998.
- How does Kiribati rank for land use?
- Kiribati ranks 168th out of 223 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Kiribati?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Kiribati 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).