Agricultural land per capita in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Agricultural land per capita was 0.1309 hectares per capita in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
0.1309 hectares per capita
Change on year
up 6.3%
World rank
169th
of 226 countries
All-time high
0.1982 hectares per capita
in 1963
All-time low
0.1139 hectares per capita
in 2004
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Agricultural land per capita 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 per capita.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 0.1309 hectares per capita for agricultural land per capita in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 6.3% on the previous year and up 2.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural land per capita in Sri Lanka peaked at 0.1982 hectares per capita in 1963 and was at its lowest, 0.1139 hectares per capita, in 2004.
Sri Lanka ranks 169th 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 Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | hectares per capita | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.1741 hectares per capita | — |
| 1962 | 0.1683 hectares per capita | -3.3% |
| 1963 | 0.1982 hectares per capita | +17.8% |
| 1964 | 0.1974 hectares per capita | -0.4% |
| 1965 | 0.1975 hectares per capita | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 0.1972 hectares per capita | -0.2% |
| 1967 | 0.1968 hectares per capita | -0.2% |
| 1968 | 0.1978 hectares per capita | +0.5% |
| 1969 | 0.1938 hectares per capita | -2.0% |
| 1970 | 0.1899 hectares per capita | -2.0% |
| 1971 | 0.1863 hectares per capita | -1.9% |
| 1972 | 0.1831 hectares per capita | -1.8% |
| 1973 | 0.18 hectares per capita | -1.7% |
| 1974 | 0.1771 hectares per capita | -1.6% |
| 1975 | 0.1741 hectares per capita | -1.7% |
| 1976 | 0.1737 hectares per capita | -0.3% |
| 1977 | 0.1732 hectares per capita | -0.3% |
| 1978 | 0.1725 hectares per capita | -0.4% |
| 1979 | 0.1618 hectares per capita | -6.2% |
| 1980 | 0.1582 hectares per capita | -2.2% |
| 1981 | 0.1556 hectares per capita | -1.7% |
| 1982 | 0.1502 hectares per capita | -3.5% |
| 1983 | 0.15 hectares per capita | -0.1% |
| 1984 | 0.1497 hectares per capita | -0.2% |
| 1985 | 0.1489 hectares per capita | -0.5% |
| 1986 | 0.1479 hectares per capita | -0.7% |
| 1987 | 0.1466 hectares per capita | -0.8% |
| 1988 | 0.1453 hectares per capita | -0.9% |
| 1989 | 0.144 hectares per capita | -0.9% |
| 1990 | 0.143 hectares per capita | -0.7% |
| 1991 | 0.1422 hectares per capita | -0.6% |
| 1992 | 0.14 hectares per capita | -1.5% |
| 1993 | 0.1363 hectares per capita | -2.7% |
| 1994 | 0.1345 hectares per capita | -1.3% |
| 1995 | 0.1324 hectares per capita | -1.5% |
| 1996 | 0.13 hectares per capita | -1.9% |
| 1997 | 0.1276 hectares per capita | -1.8% |
| 1998 | 0.1252 hectares per capita | -1.8% |
| 1999 | 0.1238 hectares per capita | -1.2% |
| 2000 | 0.1218 hectares per capita | -1.6% |
| 2001 | 0.1199 hectares per capita | -1.5% |
| 2002 | 0.119 hectares per capita | -0.8% |
| 2003 | 0.1196 hectares per capita | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 0.1139 hectares per capita | -4.7% |
| 2005 | 0.1233 hectares per capita | +8.2% |
| 2006 | 0.1194 hectares per capita | -3.2% |
| 2007 | 0.1163 hectares per capita | -2.6% |
| 2008 | 0.1259 hectares per capita | +8.3% |
| 2009 | 0.1257 hectares per capita | -0.2% |
| 2010 | 0.1255 hectares per capita | -0.2% |
| 2011 | 0.1299 hectares per capita | +3.6% |
| 2012 | 0.1294 hectares per capita | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 0.1283 hectares per capita | -0.9% |
| 2014 | 0.1272 hectares per capita | -0.9% |
| 2015 | 0.1261 hectares per capita | -0.8% |
| 2016 | 0.1255 hectares per capita | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 0.125 hectares per capita | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 0.1263 hectares per capita | +1.1% |
| 2019 | 0.1255 hectares per capita | -0.7% |
| 2020 | 0.1246 hectares per capita | -0.7% |
| 2021 | 0.1239 hectares per capita | -0.6% |
| 2022 | 0.1231 hectares per capita | -0.6% |
| 2023 | 0.1309 hectares per capita | +6.3% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 0.1309 hectares per capita is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.3687 hectares per capita, 36% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 0.1309 hectares per capita is above the median for South Asia, which is 0.1251 hectares per capita, 1.0× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.1912 hectares per capita | 0.1683 hectares per capita | 0.1982 hectares per capita | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.1772 hectares per capita | 0.1618 hectares per capita | 0.1899 hectares per capita | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.1496 hectares per capita | 0.144 hectares per capita | 0.1582 hectares per capita | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.1335 hectares per capita | 0.1238 hectares per capita | 0.143 hectares per capita | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.1205 hectares per capita | 0.1139 hectares per capita | 0.1259 hectares per capita | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.1269 hectares per capita | 0.125 hectares per capita | 0.1299 hectares per capita | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.1256 hectares per capita | 0.1231 hectares per capita | 0.1309 hectares per capita | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
- 166 Papua New Guinea 0.1352 hectares per capita compare
- 167 Rwanda 0.1349 hectares per capita compare
- 168 Cook Islands 0.1334 hectares per capita compare
- 170 Liechtenstein 0.1305 hectares per capita compare
- 171 Saint Kitts and Nevis 0.1283 hectares per capita compare
- 172 Nepal 0.1261 hectares per capita compare
More agriculture & rural data for Sri Lanka
- Cropland extent over the long-term, annual growth rate 0.0051 % change on previous year (2025)
- Cropland extent over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Cropland extent over the long-term, per capita 0.109 hectares per person (2025)
- Agricultural area over the long-term, annual growth rate 0.0043 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agricultural area over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agricultural area over the long-term, per capita 0.1293 hectares per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 9.1 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0836 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 418.3 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.9172 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural land per capita in Sri Lanka?
- Agricultural land per capita in Sri Lanka was 0.1309 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 Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 0.1982 hectares per capita in 1963.
- What is the lowest agricultural land per capita recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1139 hectares per capita in 2004.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for agricultural land per capita?
- Sri Lanka ranks 169th out of 226 countries with data for 2023.
- Is agricultural land per capita rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- 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 Agricultural land per capita. 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).
About this data
Agricultural land is the sum of cropland and land used as pasture for grazing livestock.