Land use in Malaysia
Malaysia: Land use was 8.24 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
8.24 million hectares
Change on year
down 0.5%
World rank
41st
of 224 countries
All-time high
8.29 million hectares
in 2016
All-time low
2.86 million hectares
in 1961
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Land use in Malaysia, 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 Malaysia is 8.24 million hectares, measured in 2023.
The figure is down 0.5% on the previous year and up 6.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Malaysia peaked at 8.29 million hectares in 2016 and was at its lowest, 2.86 million hectares, in 1961.
That places Malaysia 41st out of 224 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.
Land use in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 2.86 million hectares | — |
| 1962 | 2.93 million hectares | +2.2% |
| 1963 | 3.05 million hectares | +4.2% |
| 1964 | 3.11 million hectares | +2.0% |
| 1965 | 3.27 million hectares | +5.1% |
| 1966 | 3.28 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1967 | 3.34 million hectares | +1.9% |
| 1968 | 3.47 million hectares | +3.8% |
| 1969 | 3.52 million hectares | +1.5% |
| 1970 | 3.65 million hectares | +3.6% |
| 1971 | 3.72 million hectares | +2.0% |
| 1972 | 3.84 million hectares | +3.2% |
| 1973 | 3.92 million hectares | +2.1% |
| 1974 | 3.97 million hectares | +1.5% |
| 1975 | 4.11 million hectares | +3.3% |
| 1976 | 4.19 million hectares | +2.0% |
| 1977 | 4.32 million hectares | +3.1% |
| 1978 | 4.47 million hectares | +3.6% |
| 1979 | 4.58 million hectares | +2.4% |
| 1980 | 4.66 million hectares | +1.7% |
| 1981 | 4.78 million hectares | +2.7% |
| 1982 | 4.84 million hectares | +1.3% |
| 1983 | 4.94 million hectares | +2.0% |
| 1984 | 4.95 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1985 | 5.15 million hectares | +4.0% |
| 1986 | 5.45 million hectares | +5.9% |
| 1987 | 5.80 million hectares | +6.4% |
| 1988 | 6.11 million hectares | +5.4% |
| 1989 | 6.45 million hectares | +5.5% |
| 1990 | 6.48 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1991 | 6.52 million hectares | +0.6% |
| 1992 | 6.53 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1993 | 6.61 million hectares | +1.3% |
| 1994 | 6.71 million hectares | +1.5% |
| 1995 | 6.68 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 1996 | 6.68 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1997 | 6.67 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 1998 | 6.66 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 6.66 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 6.65 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2001 | 6.66 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 6.75 million hectares | +1.4% |
| 2003 | 6.83 million hectares | +1.2% |
| 2004 | 6.85 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 6.85 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 6.79 million hectares | -0.9% |
| 2007 | 6.82 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 6.87 million hectares | +0.6% |
| 2009 | 6.93 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 2010 | 7.10 million hectares | +2.4% |
| 2011 | 7.25 million hectares | +2.0% |
| 2012 | 7.54 million hectares | +4.1% |
| 2013 | 7.77 million hectares | +3.1% |
| 2014 | 8.03 million hectares | +3.3% |
| 2015 | 8.28 million hectares | +3.2% |
| 2016 | 8.29 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 8.29 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 8.29 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 8.29 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 8.29 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 8.29 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 8.29 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 8.24 million hectares | -0.5% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 8.24 million hectares is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.58 million hectares, 5.2× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 8.24 million hectares is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 141,800 hectares, 58.1× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.20 million hectares | 2.86 million hectares | 3.52 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 4.08 million hectares | 3.65 million hectares | 4.58 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 5.31 million hectares | 4.66 million hectares | 6.45 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 6.62 million hectares | 6.48 million hectares | 6.71 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 6.80 million hectares | 6.65 million hectares | 6.93 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.91 million hectares | 7.10 million hectares | 8.29 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.28 million hectares | 8.24 million hectares | 8.29 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More environment data for Malaysia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -1.65 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -1.9 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.179 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.25 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 4.33 % 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 0.9114 % 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 Malaysia?
- Land use in Malaysia was 8.24 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 Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 8.29 million hectares in 2016.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.86 million hectares in 1961.
- How does Malaysia rank for land use?
- Malaysia ranks 41st out of 224 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malaysia 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
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