Land use in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Land use was 2.57 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Land use in Sri Lanka, 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 Sri Lanka is 2.57 million hectares, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
The figure is up 8.2% on the previous year and up 11.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Sri Lanka peaked at 2.57 million hectares in 2023 and was at its lowest, 1.52 million hectares, in 1962.
Sri Lanka ranks 79th 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 | 1.80 million hectares | 1.52 million hectares | 1.89 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.94 million hectares | 1.89 million hectares | 2.03 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.89 million hectares | 1.86 million hectares | 1.91 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.89 million hectares | 1.88 million hectares | 1.91 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.98 million hectares | 1.85 million hectares | 2.17 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.30 million hectares | 2.18 million hectares | 2.37 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.42 million hectares | 2.37 million hectares | 2.57 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
- 76 Guatemala 2.74 million hectares compare
- 77 Central African Republic 2.68 million hectares compare
- 78 South Sudan 2.57 million hectares compare
- 80 Czechia 2.57 million hectares compare
- 81 North Korea 2.55 million hectares compare
- 82 Sweden 2.53 million hectares compare
More environment data for Sri Lanka
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 37.17 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 1.7 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 5.57 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.6851 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 0.0046 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0737 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 11.12 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0059 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0632 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 4.72 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in Sri Lanka?
- Land use in Sri Lanka was 2.57 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 Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 2.57 million hectares in 2023.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.52 million hectares in 1962.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for land use?
- Sri Lanka ranks 79th out of 223 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sri Lanka 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).