What is the highest agricultural land recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?

The highest recorded value was 10.68 million sq. km in 2023.

What is the lowest agricultural land recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?

The lowest recorded value was 7.47 million sq. km in 1962.

How does Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) rank for agricultural land?

Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) ranks 12th out of 47 groups with data for 2023.

Is agricultural land rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?

Over the last ten years it is up 2.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Agricultural land in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)

Name: Agricultural land in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)
Creator: FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
License: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)

Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries): Agricultural land was 10.68 million sq. km in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)

10.68 million sq. km

Change on year

up 0.2%

Rank

12th

of 47 groups

All-time high

10.68 million sq. km

in 2023

All-time low

7.47 million sq. km

in 1962

Years of data

1961–2023

Agricultural land in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries), 1961–2023

Source: FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in sq. km.

Analysis

In 2023, agricultural land in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) stood at 10.68 million sq. km. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.2% on the previous year and up 2.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, agricultural land in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) peaked at 10.68 million sq. km in 2023 and was at its lowest, 7.47 million sq. km, in 1962.

Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) ranks 12th of 47 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.

Agricultural land in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries), year by year

Annual values for Agricultural land (sq. km) in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries), 1961 to 2023.
Year	sq. km	Change
1961	7.47 million sq. km	—
1962	7.47 million sq. km	-0.1%
1963	7.47 million sq. km	+0.1%
1964	7.47 million sq. km	-0.0%
1965	7.47 million sq. km	-0.0%
1966	7.47 million sq. km	+0.0%
1967	7.47 million sq. km	+0.0%
1968	7.49 million sq. km	+0.2%
1969	7.49 million sq. km	+0.1%
1970	7.50 million sq. km	+0.0%
1971	7.51 million sq. km	+0.2%
1972	7.52 million sq. km	+0.1%
1973	7.52 million sq. km	+0.1%
1974	7.52 million sq. km	-0.0%
1975	7.53 million sq. km	+0.2%
1976	7.54 million sq. km	+0.1%
1977	7.54 million sq. km	+0.1%
1978	7.56 million sq. km	+0.2%
1979	7.56 million sq. km	+0.1%
1980	7.58 million sq. km	+0.2%
1981	7.59 million sq. km	+0.2%
1982	7.60 million sq. km	+0.2%
1983	7.62 million sq. km	+0.2%
1984	7.63 million sq. km	+0.2%
1985	7.67 million sq. km	+0.4%
1986	7.69 million sq. km	+0.3%
1987	7.69 million sq. km	+0.1%
1988	7.72 million sq. km	+0.3%
1989	7.73 million sq. km	+0.2%
1990	7.76 million sq. km	+0.4%
1991	7.79 million sq. km	+0.4%
1992	7.83 million sq. km	+0.5%
1993	8.24 million sq. km	+5.4%
1994	8.29 million sq. km	+0.6%
1995	8.35 million sq. km	+0.7%
1996	8.38 million sq. km	+0.3%
1997	8.41 million sq. km	+0.4%
1998	8.43 million sq. km	+0.3%
1999	8.48 million sq. km	+0.6%
2000	8.51 million sq. km	+0.4%
2001	8.54 million sq. km	+0.3%
2002	8.56 million sq. km	+0.2%
2003	8.60 million sq. km	+0.5%
2004	8.62 million sq. km	+0.2%
2005	8.70 million sq. km	+0.9%
2006	8.71 million sq. km	+0.2%
2007	8.75 million sq. km	+0.4%
2008	8.78 million sq. km	+0.3%
2009	8.83 million sq. km	+0.5%
2010	8.87 million sq. km	+0.5%
2011	8.92 million sq. km	+0.5%
2012	10.36 million sq. km	+16.2%
2013	10.41 million sq. km	+0.4%
2014	10.44 million sq. km	+0.3%
2015	10.48 million sq. km	+0.4%
2016	10.50 million sq. km	+0.2%
2017	10.53 million sq. km	+0.3%
2018	10.58 million sq. km	+0.5%
2019	10.60 million sq. km	+0.2%
2020	10.63 million sq. km	+0.2%
2021	10.65 million sq. km	+0.2%
2022	10.67 million sq. km	+0.2%
2023	10.68 million sq. km	+0.2%

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1960s	7.47 million sq. km	7.47 million sq. km	7.49 million sq. km	9
1970s	7.53 million sq. km	7.50 million sq. km	7.56 million sq. km	10
1980s	7.65 million sq. km	7.58 million sq. km	7.73 million sq. km	10
1990s	8.19 million sq. km	7.76 million sq. km	8.48 million sq. km	10
2000s	8.66 million sq. km	8.51 million sq. km	8.83 million sq. km	10
2010s	10.17 million sq. km	8.87 million sq. km	10.60 million sq. km	10
2020s	10.66 million sq. km	10.63 million sq. km	10.68 million sq. km	4

Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)

9 Argentina 1.16 million sq. km compare
10 Sudan 1.13 million sq. km compare
11 Mongolia 1.07 million sq. km compare
12 Mexico 985,454 sq. km compare
13 South Africa 963,410 sq. km compare
14 Nigeria 693,982 sq. km compare
15 Canada 568,750 sq. km compare

See the full ranking of 258 places →

More agriculture & rural data for Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)

Rural population, per capita 0.5534 units per person (2025)
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 17.9% (2025)
Rural population 731.42 million (2025)
Rural population growth 1.5% (2025)
Rural population 55.3% (2025)
Agricultural raw materials imports 1.0% (2024)
Agricultural raw materials exports 2.6% (2024)
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 299.6 current US$ per person (2025)
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 10.7 % change on previous year (2025)
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.1791 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)

All data for Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) →

Frequently asked questions

What is agricultural land in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?: Agricultural land in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) was 10.68 million sq. km in 2023, according to FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
What is the highest agricultural land recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?: The highest recorded value was 10.68 million sq. km in 2023.
What is the lowest agricultural land recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?: The lowest recorded value was 7.47 million sq. km in 1962.
How does Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) rank for agricultural land?: Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) ranks 12th out of 47 groups with data for 2023.
Is agricultural land rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?: Over the last ten years it is up 2.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) data come from?: The figures come from FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), published as part of Agricultural land (sq. km). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Agricultural land in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries). Statizoid, drawing on FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Retrieved 05 September 2026, from https://agriculture.statizoid.com/stat/agricultural-land-sq-km/sub-saharan-africa-ida-and-ibrd-countries/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://agriculture.statizoid.com/stat/agricultural-land-sq-km/sub-saharan-africa-ida-and-ibrd-countries/">Agricultural land in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: Agricultural land (sq. km)
Unit: sq. km
Source: FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 258 places, 16,045 data points, 1961–2023
Last refreshed: 03 September 2026

Agricultural land refers to the land area that is arable, under permanent crops, and under permanent pastures. Arable land includes land defined by the FAO as land under temporary crops (double-cropped areas are counted once), temporary meadows for mowing or for pasture, land under market or kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow. Land abandoned as a result of shifting cultivation is excluded. Land under permanent crops is land cultivated with crops that occupy the land for long periods and need not be replanted after each harvest, such as cocoa, coffee, and rubber. This category includes land under flowering shrubs, fruit trees, nut trees, and vines, but excludes land under trees grown for wood or timber. Permanent pasture is land used for five or more years for forage, including natural and cultivated crops.