Share of agricultural land which is irrigated in India
India: Share of agricultural land which is irrigated was 44.4% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of agricultural land which is irrigated in India, 2001–2023
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
The most recent figure for share of agricultural land which is irrigated in India is 44.4%, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 23 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.6% on the previous year and up 20.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of agricultural land which is irrigated in India peaked at 44.4% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 30.7%, in 2003.
That places India 4th out of 83 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.
Share of agricultural land which is irrigated in India, year by year
| Year | % of total agricultural land | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 32.2% | — |
| 2002 | 31.5% | -2.1% |
| 2003 | 30.7% | -2.5% |
| 2004 | 31.6% | +2.9% |
| 2005 | 32.9% | +3.9% |
| 2006 | 33.8% | +2.9% |
| 2007 | 34.9% | +3.3% |
| 2008 | 34.7% | -0.8% |
| 2009 | 35.3% | +2.0% |
| 2010 | 34.5% | -2.4% |
| 2011 | 35.4% | +2.6% |
| 2012 | 36.3% | +2.6% |
| 2013 | 36.8% | +1.3% |
| 2014 | 37.9% | +3.0% |
| 2015 | 38.1% | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 37.5% | -1.5% |
| 2017 | 38.3% | +2.2% |
| 2018 | 38.8% | +1.3% |
| 2019 | 40.0% | +3.0% |
| 2020 | 42.3% | +5.8% |
| 2021 | 43.0% | +1.7% |
| 2022 | 43.7% | +1.7% |
| 2023 | 44.4% | +1.6% |
India compared with similar countries
- India's 44.4% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 11.4%, 3.9× the median. (16 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 33.1% | 30.7% | 35.3% | 9 |
| 2010s | 37.3% | 34.5% | 40.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 43.3% | 42.3% | 44.4% | 4 |
Countries ranked near India
More agriculture & rural data for India
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual -2.83 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.1623 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 438.73 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.4067 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.6431 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 16.2% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 16.2% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.5% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of agricultural land which is irrigated in India?
- Share of agricultural land which is irrigated in India was 44.4% in 2023, 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 India?
- The highest recorded value was 44.4% in 2023.
- What is the lowest share of agricultural land which is irrigated recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 30.7% in 2003.
- How does India rank for share of agricultural land which is irrigated?
- India ranks 4th out of 83 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of agricultural land which is irrigated rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is up 20.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this India 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.
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CSV · JSON — 23 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.