Land use in Tanzania
Tanzania: Land use was 15.52 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Land use in Tanzania, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Tanzania recorded 15.52 million hectares for land use in 2023. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
The figure is up 10.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Tanzania peaked at 15.52 million hectares in 2020 and was at its lowest, 6.00 million hectares, in 1961.
That places Tanzania 24th out of 223 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 6.78 million hectares | 6.00 million hectares | 7.00 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 8.20 million hectares | 8.00 million hectares | 9.00 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 9.50 million hectares | 9.00 million hectares | 10.00 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 9.95 million hectares | 9.80 million hectares | 10.00 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 11.31 million hectares | 10.00 million hectares | 13.19 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.35 million hectares | 13.40 million hectares | 15.31 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 15.52 million hectares | 15.52 million hectares | 15.52 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Tanzania
- 21 Iran 17.59 million hectares compare
- 22 Democratic Republic of Congo 16.90 million hectares compare
- 23 Spain 16.61 million hectares compare
- 25 Cote d'Ivoire 14.30 million hectares compare
- 26 Myanmar 12.52 million hectares compare
- 27 South Africa 12.41 million hectares compare
More environment data for Tanzania
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 102.53 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 1.5 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 43.66 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 5.56 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 6.87 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0551 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 59.72 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0064 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0605 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 3.51 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in Tanzania?
- Land use in Tanzania was 15.52 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 Tanzania?
- The highest recorded value was 15.52 million hectares in 2020.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Tanzania?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.00 million hectares in 1961.
- How does Tanzania rank for land use?
- Tanzania ranks 24th out of 223 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Tanzania?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Tanzania 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).