Land use in Tonga
Tonga: Land use was 31,000 hectares in 2023. ▬ Flat
Latest (2023)
31,000 hectares
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
170th
of 224 countries
All-time high
31,000 hectares
in 1969
All-time low
26,000 hectares
in 1961
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Land use in Tonga, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Tonga recorded 31,000 hectares for land use in 2023. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 6.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Tonga peaked at 31,000 hectares in 1969 and was at its lowest, 26,000 hectares, in 1961.
Tonga ranks 170th of 224 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
Land use in Tonga, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 26,000 hectares | — |
| 1962 | 27,000 hectares | +3.8% |
| 1963 | 27,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 27,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 28,000 hectares | +3.7% |
| 1966 | 29,000 hectares | +3.6% |
| 1967 | 29,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 29,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 31,000 hectares | +6.9% |
| 1970 | 30,000 hectares | -3.2% |
| 1971 | 30,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 30,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 30,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 30,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 30,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 29,000 hectares | -3.3% |
| 1977 | 29,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 29,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 29,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 30,000 hectares | +3.4% |
| 1981 | 30,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 30,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 29,000 hectares | -3.3% |
| 1984 | 29,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 29,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 29,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 29,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 29,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 28,000 hectares | -3.4% |
| 1990 | 28,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 28,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 28,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 28,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 28,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 29,000 hectares | +3.6% |
| 1996 | 29,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 27,000 hectares | -6.9% |
| 1998 | 27,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 27,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 26,000 hectares | -3.7% |
| 2001 | 26,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 26,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 26,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 26,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 26,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 27,000 hectares | +3.8% |
| 2007 | 27,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 27,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 28,000 hectares | +3.7% |
| 2010 | 28,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 28,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 29,000 hectares | +3.6% |
| 2013 | 29,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 30,000 hectares | +3.4% |
| 2015 | 31,000 hectares | +3.3% |
| 2016 | 31,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 31,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 31,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 31,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 31,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 31,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 31,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 31,000 hectares | +0.0% |
Tonga compared with similar countries
- Tonga's 31,000 hectares is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.58 million hectares, 2% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Tonga's 31,000 hectares is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 141,800 hectares, 22% of the median. (36 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 28,111 hectares | 26,000 hectares | 31,000 hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 29,600 hectares | 29,000 hectares | 30,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 29,200 hectares | 28,000 hectares | 30,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 27,900 hectares | 27,000 hectares | 29,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 26,500 hectares | 26,000 hectares | 28,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 29,900 hectares | 28,000 hectares | 31,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 31,000 hectares | 31,000 hectares | 31,000 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Tonga
More environment data for Tonga
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.234 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.858 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 3.06 % 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 0.1689 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), annual 0 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in Tonga?
- Land use in Tonga was 31,000 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 Tonga?
- The highest recorded value was 31,000 hectares in 1969.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Tonga?
- The lowest recorded value was 26,000 hectares in 1961.
- How does Tonga rank for land use?
- Tonga ranks 170th out of 224 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Tonga?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Tonga 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).