Land use in Samoa
Samoa: Land use was 42,420 hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
42,420 hectares
Change on year
down 1.3%
World rank
167th
of 224 countries
All-time high
77,400 hectares
in 1986
All-time low
29,900 hectares
in 2009
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Land use in Samoa, 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 Samoa is 42,420 hectares, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of down 1.3% on the previous year and down 18.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Samoa peaked at 77,400 hectares in 1986 and was at its lowest, 29,900 hectares, in 2009.
That places Samoa 167th 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 Samoa, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 55,000 hectares | — |
| 1962 | 56,000 hectares | +1.8% |
| 1963 | 56,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 56,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 61,000 hectares | +8.9% |
| 1966 | 61,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 61,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 62,000 hectares | +1.6% |
| 1969 | 62,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 62,500 hectares | +0.8% |
| 1971 | 63,000 hectares | +0.8% |
| 1972 | 63,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 63,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 63,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 64,000 hectares | +1.6% |
| 1976 | 68,000 hectares | +6.2% |
| 1977 | 70,000 hectares | +2.9% |
| 1978 | 70,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 72,500 hectares | +3.6% |
| 1980 | 73,000 hectares | +0.7% |
| 1981 | 76,000 hectares | +4.1% |
| 1982 | 76,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 76,600 hectares | +0.8% |
| 1984 | 77,000 hectares | +0.5% |
| 1985 | 77,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 77,400 hectares | +0.5% |
| 1987 | 75,700 hectares | -2.2% |
| 1988 | 76,000 hectares | +0.4% |
| 1989 | 52,200 hectares | -31.3% |
| 1990 | 52,000 hectares | -0.4% |
| 1991 | 52,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 50,000 hectares | -3.8% |
| 1993 | 50,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 49,000 hectares | -2.0% |
| 1995 | 49,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 49,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 49,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 49,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 48,300 hectares | -1.4% |
| 2000 | 45,000 hectares | -6.8% |
| 2001 | 45,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 44,000 hectares | -2.2% |
| 2003 | 42,000 hectares | -4.5% |
| 2004 | 40,000 hectares | -4.8% |
| 2005 | 38,000 hectares | -5.0% |
| 2006 | 36,200 hectares | -4.7% |
| 2007 | 34,500 hectares | -4.7% |
| 2008 | 32,000 hectares | -7.2% |
| 2009 | 29,900 hectares | -6.6% |
| 2010 | 35,500 hectares | +18.7% |
| 2011 | 41,000 hectares | +15.5% |
| 2012 | 46,500 hectares | +13.4% |
| 2013 | 52,000 hectares | +11.8% |
| 2014 | 57,500 hectares | +10.6% |
| 2015 | 63,540 hectares | +10.5% |
| 2016 | 58,150 hectares | -8.5% |
| 2017 | 52,760 hectares | -9.3% |
| 2018 | 47,350 hectares | -10.3% |
| 2019 | 43,000 hectares | -9.2% |
| 2020 | 43,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 43,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 43,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 42,420 hectares | -1.3% |
Samoa compared with similar countries
- Samoa's 42,420 hectares is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.58 million hectares, 3% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Samoa's 42,420 hectares is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 141,800 hectares, 30% of the median. (36 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Land use in Samoa changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | -31.3% | 76,000 hectares | 52,200 hectares |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 58,889 hectares | 55,000 hectares | 62,000 hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 65,900 hectares | 62,500 hectares | 72,500 hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 73,690 hectares | 52,200 hectares | 77,400 hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 49,730 hectares | 48,300 hectares | 52,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 38,660 hectares | 29,900 hectares | 45,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 49,730 hectares | 35,500 hectares | 63,540 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 42,855 hectares | 42,420 hectares | 43,000 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Samoa
- 164 Suriname 55,432 hectares compare
- 165 Cape Verde 54,000 hectares compare
- 166 Trinidad and Tobago 47,000 hectares compare
- 168 Sao Tome and Principe 42,000 hectares compare
- 169 Kiribati 34,000 hectares compare
- 170 Tonga 31,000 hectares compare
More environment data for Samoa
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 0.3482 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 0.3183 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.23 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.919 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.68 % 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 -2.51 % 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 Samoa?
- Land use in Samoa was 42,420 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 Samoa?
- The highest recorded value was 77,400 hectares in 1986.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Samoa?
- The lowest recorded value was 29,900 hectares in 2009.
- How does Samoa rank for land use?
- Samoa ranks 167th out of 224 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Samoa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 18.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Samoa 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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