Share of agricultural land which is irrigated in Malta
Malta: Share of agricultural land which is irrigated was 33.9% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of agricultural land which is irrigated in Malta, 2003–2023
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
Malta recorded 33.9% for share of agricultural land which is irrigated in 2023.
The figure is down 23.8% on the previous year and down 6.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of agricultural land which is irrigated in Malta peaked at 44.5% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 20.2%, in 2003.
Malta ranks 6th of 83 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 19 years of available data.
Share of agricultural land which is irrigated in Malta, year by year
| Year | % of total agricultural land | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 20.2% | — |
| 2005 | 25.8% | +27.8% |
| 2007 | 30.1% | +16.7% |
| 2008 | 30.1% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 30.1% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 33.9% | +12.5% |
| 2011 | 33.9% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 34.0% | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 36.2% | +6.4% |
| 2014 | 36.2% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 36.2% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 33.7% | -6.8% |
| 2017 | 33.7% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 33.7% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 33.7% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 42.7% | +26.7% |
| 2021 | 44.5% | +4.1% |
| 2022 | 44.5% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 33.9% | -23.8% |
Malta compared with similar countries
- Malta's 33.9% is above the median for high income countries, which is 2.7%, 12.6× the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Malta's 33.9% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 7.3%, 4.7× the median. (15 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of agricultural land which is irrigated in Malta 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | +27.8% | 20.2% | 25.8% |
| 2020 | +26.7% | 33.7% | 42.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 27.3% | 20.2% | 30.1% | 5 |
| 2010s | 34.5% | 33.7% | 36.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 41.4% | 33.9% | 44.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Malta
More agriculture & rural data for Malta
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 6.05 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0047 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 224.75 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1.3 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.0432 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 0.5% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 0.5% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.1% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.2% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of agricultural land which is irrigated in Malta?
- Share of agricultural land which is irrigated in Malta was 33.9% 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 Malta?
- The highest recorded value was 44.5% in 2021.
- What is the lowest share of agricultural land which is irrigated recorded in Malta?
- The lowest recorded value was 20.2% in 2003.
- How does Malta rank for share of agricultural land which is irrigated?
- Malta ranks 6th out of 83 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of agricultural land which is irrigated rising or falling in Malta?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malta 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 — 19 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.