Land use in Senegal
Senegal: Land use was 3.91 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
3.91 million hectares
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
67th
of 224 countries
All-time high
3.91 million hectares
in 2021
All-time low
2.74 million hectares
in 1998
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Land use in Senegal, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
In 2023, land use in Senegal stood at 3.91 million hectares. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
That represents a change of up 16.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Senegal peaked at 3.91 million hectares in 2021 and was at its lowest, 2.74 million hectares, in 1998.
That places Senegal 67th out of 224 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Land use in Senegal, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 2.95 million hectares | — |
| 1962 | 2.95 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 3.05 million hectares | +3.4% |
| 1964 | 3.05 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 3.15 million hectares | +3.3% |
| 1966 | 3.15 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 3.25 million hectares | +3.2% |
| 1968 | 3.42 million hectares | +5.2% |
| 1969 | 3.20 million hectares | -6.3% |
| 1970 | 3.16 million hectares | -1.2% |
| 1971 | 3.25 million hectares | +2.6% |
| 1972 | 3.25 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 3.30 million hectares | +1.5% |
| 1974 | 3.35 million hectares | +1.5% |
| 1975 | 3.35 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 3.35 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 1977 | 3.14 million hectares | -6.0% |
| 1978 | 3.14 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 1979 | 3.14 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 1980 | 3.14 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 1981 | 3.14 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 1982 | 3.14 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 1983 | 3.14 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 1984 | 3.14 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 1985 | 3.14 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 1986 | 3.13 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1987 | 3.13 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1988 | 3.13 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1989 | 3.13 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1990 | 3.12 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1991 | 3.01 million hectares | -3.7% |
| 1992 | 3.08 million hectares | +2.4% |
| 1993 | 3.12 million hectares | +1.2% |
| 1994 | 3.21 million hectares | +3.1% |
| 1995 | 3.12 million hectares | -3.1% |
| 1996 | 3.26 million hectares | +4.6% |
| 1997 | 2.98 million hectares | -8.6% |
| 1998 | 2.74 million hectares | -8.0% |
| 1999 | 3.46 million hectares | +26.4% |
| 2000 | 3.38 million hectares | -2.5% |
| 2001 | 3.15 million hectares | -6.8% |
| 2002 | 3.10 million hectares | -1.6% |
| 2003 | 2.98 million hectares | -3.8% |
| 2004 | 3.04 million hectares | +1.8% |
| 2005 | 3.18 million hectares | +4.6% |
| 2006 | 2.89 million hectares | -9.0% |
| 2007 | 2.90 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 3.67 million hectares | +26.6% |
| 2009 | 3.68 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 3.68 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 3.37 million hectares | -8.5% |
| 2012 | 3.37 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 3.37 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 3.37 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 3.73 million hectares | +10.6% |
| 2016 | 3.69 million hectares | -1.1% |
| 2017 | 3.72 million hectares | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 3.76 million hectares | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 3.79 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 2020 | 3.83 million hectares | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 3.91 million hectares | +2.1% |
| 2022 | 3.91 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 3.91 million hectares | +0.0% |
Senegal compared with similar countries
- Senegal's 3.91 million hectares is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 2.82 million hectares, 1.4× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Senegal's 3.91 million hectares is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.21 million hectares, 1.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Land use in Senegal 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | +26.6% | 2.90 million hectares | 3.67 million hectares |
| 1999 | +26.4% | 2.74 million hectares | 3.46 million hectares |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.13 million hectares | 2.95 million hectares | 3.42 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 3.24 million hectares | 3.14 million hectares | 3.35 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.14 million hectares | 3.13 million hectares | 3.14 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.11 million hectares | 2.74 million hectares | 3.46 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.20 million hectares | 2.89 million hectares | 3.68 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.58 million hectares | 3.37 million hectares | 3.79 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.89 million hectares | 3.83 million hectares | 3.91 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Senegal
More environment data for Senegal
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -1.15 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -2.06 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.432 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.48 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.08 % 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 -0.1647 % 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 Senegal?
- Land use in Senegal was 3.91 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 Senegal?
- The highest recorded value was 3.91 million hectares in 2021.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Senegal?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.74 million hectares in 1998.
- How does Senegal rank for land use?
- Senegal ranks 67th out of 224 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Senegal?
- Over the last ten years it is up 16.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Senegal 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).