Agricultural land per capita in Malawi
Malawi: Agricultural land per capita was 0.2867 hectares per capita in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
0.2867 hectares per capita
Change on year
down 2.5%
World rank
131st
of 226 countries
All-time high
0.8796 hectares per capita
in 1965
All-time low
0.2867 hectares per capita
in 2023
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Agricultural land per capita in Malawi, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares per capita.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 0.2867 hectares per capita for agricultural land per capita in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
That represents a change of down 2.5% on the previous year and down 16.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural land per capita in Malawi peaked at 0.8796 hectares per capita in 1965 and was at its lowest, 0.2867 hectares per capita, in 2023.
Malawi ranks 131st of 226 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Agricultural land per capita in Malawi, year by year
| Year | hectares per capita | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.8612 hectares per capita | — |
| 1962 | 0.867 hectares per capita | +0.7% |
| 1963 | 0.8589 hectares per capita | -0.9% |
| 1964 | 0.8506 hectares per capita | -1.0% |
| 1965 | 0.8796 hectares per capita | +3.4% |
| 1966 | 0.8702 hectares per capita | -1.1% |
| 1967 | 0.8378 hectares per capita | -3.7% |
| 1968 | 0.8404 hectares per capita | +0.3% |
| 1969 | 0.831 hectares per capita | -1.1% |
| 1970 | 0.8 hectares per capita | -3.7% |
| 1971 | 0.8118 hectares per capita | +1.5% |
| 1972 | 0.8015 hectares per capita | -1.3% |
| 1973 | 0.7908 hectares per capita | -1.3% |
| 1974 | 0.7702 hectares per capita | -2.6% |
| 1975 | 0.7395 hectares per capita | -4.0% |
| 1976 | 0.7187 hectares per capita | -2.8% |
| 1977 | 0.6972 hectares per capita | -3.0% |
| 1978 | 0.6829 hectares per capita | -2.1% |
| 1979 | 0.6585 hectares per capita | -3.6% |
| 1980 | 0.6113 hectares per capita | -7.2% |
| 1981 | 0.6031 hectares per capita | -1.3% |
| 1982 | 0.5945 hectares per capita | -1.4% |
| 1983 | 0.5587 hectares per capita | -6.0% |
| 1984 | 0.5441 hectares per capita | -2.6% |
| 1985 | 0.5256 hectares per capita | -3.4% |
| 1986 | 0.5192 hectares per capita | -1.2% |
| 1987 | 0.4956 hectares per capita | -4.5% |
| 1988 | 0.4701 hectares per capita | -5.1% |
| 1989 | 0.4539 hectares per capita | -3.5% |
| 1990 | 0.4419 hectares per capita | -2.6% |
| 1991 | 0.4388 hectares per capita | -0.7% |
| 1992 | 0.4213 hectares per capita | -4.0% |
| 1993 | 0.4152 hectares per capita | -1.4% |
| 1994 | 0.4004 hectares per capita | -3.6% |
| 1995 | 0.4217 hectares per capita | +5.3% |
| 1996 | 0.4231 hectares per capita | +0.3% |
| 1997 | 0.4194 hectares per capita | -0.9% |
| 1998 | 0.4244 hectares per capita | +1.2% |
| 1999 | 0.4236 hectares per capita | -0.2% |
| 2000 | 0.418 hectares per capita | -1.3% |
| 2001 | 0.4166 hectares per capita | -0.3% |
| 2002 | 0.4066 hectares per capita | -2.4% |
| 2003 | 0.4088 hectares per capita | +0.6% |
| 2004 | 0.3984 hectares per capita | -2.6% |
| 2005 | 0.4034 hectares per capita | +1.3% |
| 2006 | 0.4004 hectares per capita | -0.7% |
| 2007 | 0.3893 hectares per capita | -2.8% |
| 2008 | 0.3889 hectares per capita | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 0.381 hectares per capita | -2.0% |
| 2010 | 0.3699 hectares per capita | -2.9% |
| 2011 | 0.3593 hectares per capita | -2.9% |
| 2012 | 0.3492 hectares per capita | -2.8% |
| 2013 | 0.3431 hectares per capita | -1.7% |
| 2014 | 0.34 hectares per capita | -0.9% |
| 2015 | 0.334 hectares per capita | -1.8% |
| 2016 | 0.3282 hectares per capita | -1.7% |
| 2017 | 0.3225 hectares per capita | -1.7% |
| 2018 | 0.317 hectares per capita | -1.7% |
| 2019 | 0.3116 hectares per capita | -1.7% |
| 2020 | 0.3063 hectares per capita | -1.7% |
| 2021 | 0.3018 hectares per capita | -1.5% |
| 2022 | 0.2941 hectares per capita | -2.5% |
| 2023 | 0.2867 hectares per capita | -2.5% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 0.2867 hectares per capita is below the median for low income countries, which is 0.5954 hectares per capita, 48% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 0.2867 hectares per capita is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.6139 hectares per capita, 47% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.8552 hectares per capita | 0.831 hectares per capita | 0.8796 hectares per capita | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.7471 hectares per capita | 0.6585 hectares per capita | 0.8118 hectares per capita | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.5376 hectares per capita | 0.4539 hectares per capita | 0.6113 hectares per capita | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.423 hectares per capita | 0.4004 hectares per capita | 0.4419 hectares per capita | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.4011 hectares per capita | 0.381 hectares per capita | 0.418 hectares per capita | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.3375 hectares per capita | 0.3116 hectares per capita | 0.3699 hectares per capita | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.2972 hectares per capita | 0.2867 hectares per capita | 0.3063 hectares per capita | 4 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More agriculture & rural data for Malawi
- Cropland extent over the long-term, annual growth rate 1.1 % change on previous year (2025)
- Cropland extent over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0.0003 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Cropland extent over the long-term, per capita 0.1965 hectares per person (2025)
- Agricultural area over the long-term, annual growth rate 0.7718 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agricultural area over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0.0004 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agricultural area over the long-term, per capita 0.2798 hectares per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 24.6 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.3003 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 201.66 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 2.19 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural land per capita in Malawi?
- Agricultural land per capita in Malawi was 0.2867 hectares per capita 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 agricultural land per capita recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 0.8796 hectares per capita in 1965.
- What is the lowest agricultural land per capita recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2867 hectares per capita in 2023.
- How does Malawi rank for agricultural land per capita?
- Malawi ranks 131st out of 226 countries with data for 2023.
- Is agricultural land per capita rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is down 16.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malawi 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 Agricultural land per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Agricultural land is the sum of cropland and land used as pasture for grazing livestock.