Land use in Sao Tome and Principe
Sao Tome and Principe: Land use was 42,000 hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Land use in Sao Tome and Principe, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Sao Tome and Principe recorded 42,000 hectares for land use in 2023. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 23.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Sao Tome and Principe peaked at 42,000 hectares in 2021 and was at its lowest, 26,000 hectares, in 1997.
Sao Tome and Principe ranks 167th of 223 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 34,556 hectares | 34,000 hectares | 35,000 hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 35,900 hectares | 35,000 hectares | 36,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 31,100 hectares | 28,000 hectares | 36,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 28,900 hectares | 26,000 hectares | 34,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 33,900 hectares | 33,000 hectares | 35,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 36,600 hectares | 32,000 hectares | 41,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 41,750 hectares | 41,000 hectares | 42,000 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sao Tome and Principe
More environment data for Sao Tome and Principe
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 0.2455 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 1.04 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 0.0082 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.0137 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 0.0292 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 0.0789 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0006 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 0.0273 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in Sao Tome and Principe?
- Land use in Sao Tome and Principe was 42,000 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 Sao Tome and Principe?
- The highest recorded value was 42,000 hectares in 2021.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Sao Tome and Principe?
- The lowest recorded value was 26,000 hectares in 1997.
- How does Sao Tome and Principe rank for land use?
- Sao Tome and Principe ranks 167th out of 223 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Sao Tome and Principe?
- Over the last ten years it is up 23.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sao Tome and Principe 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).