Share of agricultural land which is irrigated in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: Share of agricultural land which is irrigated was 0.5% in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Share of agricultural land which is irrigated in Ethiopia, 2001–2020
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of total agricultural land.
Analysis
Ethiopia recorded 0.5% for share of agricultural land which is irrigated in 2020.
The figure is down 77.3% on the previous year and down 7.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of agricultural land which is irrigated in Ethiopia peaked at 2.1% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 0.3%, in 2001.
That places Ethiopia 72nd out of 83 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Share of agricultural land which is irrigated in Ethiopia, year by year
| Year | % of total agricultural land | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 0.3% | — |
| 2002 | 0.3% | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 0.4% | +17.5% |
| 2004 | 0.4% | -3.8% |
| 2005 | 0.4% | +19.1% |
| 2006 | 0.4% | -10.1% |
| 2007 | 0.5% | +30.4% |
| 2008 | 0.5% | -7.1% |
| 2009 | 0.4% | -7.3% |
| 2010 | 0.5% | +15.6% |
| 2011 | 0.5% | -11.2% |
| 2017 | 1.8% | +306.1% |
| 2018 | 2.1% | +13.1% |
| 2020 | 0.5% | -77.3% |
Ethiopia compared with similar countries
- Ethiopia's 0.5% is below the median for low income countries, which is 2.2%, 22% of the median. (5 countries reporting)
- Ethiopia's 0.5% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.6%, 76% of the median. (9 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of agricultural land which is irrigated in Ethiopia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | +306.1% | 0.5% | 1.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 9 |
| 2010s | 1.2% | 0.5% | 2.1% | 4 |
| 2020s | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Ethiopia
More agriculture & rural data for Ethiopia
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual -20.36 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.3282 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 306.11 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1.93 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0008 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.7589 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 32.8% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 32.8% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 9.7% (2023)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.5% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of agricultural land which is irrigated in Ethiopia?
- Share of agricultural land which is irrigated in Ethiopia was 0.5% in 2020, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of agricultural land which is irrigated recorded in Ethiopia?
- The highest recorded value was 2.1% in 2018.
- What is the lowest share of agricultural land which is irrigated recorded in Ethiopia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3% in 2001.
- How does Ethiopia rank for share of agricultural land which is irrigated?
- Ethiopia ranks 72nd out of 83 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of agricultural land which is irrigated rising or falling in Ethiopia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Ethiopia data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of agricultural land which is irrigated. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The percentage of total agricultural land area which is irrigated (i.e. purposely provided with water), including land irrigated by controlled flooding. Agricultural land is the combination of crop (arable) and grazing land.