Land use in Western Sahara
Western Sahara: Land use was 4,000 hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Land use in Western Sahara, 1969–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Western Sahara recorded 4,000 hectares for land use in 2023. That is the highest value across all 55 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Western Sahara peaked at 4,000 hectares in 1990 and was at its lowest, 1,000 hectares, in 1969.
That places Western Sahara 197th out of 223 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 55 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1,000 hectares | 1,000 hectares | 1,000 hectares | 1 |
| 1970s | 2,000 hectares | 2,000 hectares | 2,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 2,700 hectares | 2,000 hectares | 3,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 4,000 hectares | 4,000 hectares | 4,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 4,000 hectares | 4,000 hectares | 4,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 4,000 hectares | 4,000 hectares | 4,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 4,000 hectares | 4,000 hectares | 4,000 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Western Sahara
More environment data for Western Sahara
- Forest area 529,220 hectares (2025)
- Share of global forest area 0.0% (2025)
- Annual change in forest area as a share of forest area -0.2% (2025)
- Annual change in forest area -798.01 hectares (2025)
- Annual change in forest area vs. GDP per capita -0.2% (2025)
- Change in domestic forest area vs. deforestation embedded in imported goods -798.01 hectares (2025)
- Emissions of air pollutants 571.23 tonnes (2022)
- Exposure to air pollution from human sources 5.82 micrograms per cubic meter (2024)
- Exposure to outdoor air pollution 19.5 µg/m³ (2024)
- Land use over the long-term 5.00 million hectares (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in Western Sahara?
- Land use in Western Sahara was 4,000 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 Western Sahara?
- The highest recorded value was 4,000 hectares in 1990.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Western Sahara?
- The lowest recorded value was 1,000 hectares in 1969.
- How does Western Sahara rank for land use?
- Western Sahara ranks 197th out of 223 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Western Sahara?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Western Sahara 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 — 55 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).