Land use in Samoa
Samoa: Land use was 42,420 hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
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 166th out of 223 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.
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
- 163 Suriname 55,432 hectares compare
- 164 Cape Verde 54,000 hectares compare
- 165 Trinidad and Tobago 47,000 hectares compare
- 167 Sao Tome and Principe 42,000 hectares compare
- 168 Kiribati 34,000 hectares compare
- 169 Tonga 31,000 hectares compare
More environment data for Samoa
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 0.5216 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 2.39 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 0.097 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.0061 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 0.0018 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0001 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 0.1342 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0001 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0004 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 0.0288 Mt CO2e (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 166th out of 223 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).