Agricultural land use in Bangladesh
Bangladesh: Agricultural land use was 9.40 million hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
9.40 million hectares
Change on year
down 0.3%
World rank
77th
of 227 countries
All-time high
10.44 million hectares
in 1989
All-time low
9.10 million hectares
in 2014
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Agricultural land use in Bangladesh, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
The most recent figure for agricultural land use in Bangladesh is 9.40 million hectares, measured in 2023.
The figure is down 0.3% on the previous year and up 3.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural land use in Bangladesh peaked at 10.44 million hectares in 1989 and was at its lowest, 9.10 million hectares, in 2014.
Bangladesh ranks 77th of 227 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 use in Bangladesh, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 9.48 million hectares | — |
| 1962 | 9.48 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 1963 | 9.48 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 9.52 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1965 | 9.64 million hectares | +1.2% |
| 1966 | 9.65 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1967 | 9.70 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1968 | 9.67 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1969 | 9.68 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1970 | 9.70 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1971 | 9.70 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 1972 | 9.99 million hectares | +3.1% |
| 1973 | 9.99 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 1974 | 9.99 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 10.00 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1976 | 10.00 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1977 | 9.99 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1978 | 9.99 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 1979 | 9.98 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 1980 | 9.99 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 9.98 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1982 | 9.98 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 1983 | 9.96 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1984 | 10.06 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 1985 | 10.03 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1986 | 10.04 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1987 | 10.12 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 1988 | 10.43 million hectares | +3.1% |
| 1989 | 10.44 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1990 | 10.39 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 1991 | 10.32 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 1992 | 9.55 million hectares | -7.5% |
| 1993 | 9.45 million hectares | -1.1% |
| 1994 | 9.36 million hectares | -0.9% |
| 1995 | 9.37 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1996 | 9.33 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 1997 | 9.37 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1998 | 9.43 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 1999 | 9.49 million hectares | +0.6% |
| 2000 | 9.40 million hectares | -0.9% |
| 2001 | 9.40 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 9.35 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2003 | 9.33 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2004 | 9.32 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2005 | 9.31 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 9.28 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 9.27 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 2008 | 9.25 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 9.25 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 9.24 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2011 | 9.13 million hectares | -1.2% |
| 2012 | 9.12 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2013 | 9.11 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2014 | 9.10 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 9.16 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 9.19 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 9.19 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 9.20 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 9.40 million hectares | +2.1% |
| 2020 | 9.43 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 9.42 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2022 | 9.43 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 9.40 million hectares | -0.3% |
Bangladesh compared with similar countries
- Bangladesh's 9.40 million hectares is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 9.40 million hectares, 1.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Bangladesh's 9.40 million hectares is above the median for South Asia, which is 3.38 million hectares, 2.8× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 9.59 million hectares | 9.48 million hectares | 9.70 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 9.93 million hectares | 9.70 million hectares | 10.00 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 10.10 million hectares | 9.96 million hectares | 10.44 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 9.60 million hectares | 9.33 million hectares | 10.39 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 9.32 million hectares | 9.25 million hectares | 9.40 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.18 million hectares | 9.10 million hectares | 9.40 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 9.42 million hectares | 9.40 million hectares | 9.43 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Bangladesh
More agriculture & rural data for Bangladesh
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 3.73 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.1142 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 296.72 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.38 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0003 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.6676 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 11.4% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 11.4% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.8% (2018)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 6.0% (2018)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural land use in Bangladesh?
- Agricultural land use in Bangladesh was 9.40 million hectares 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 use recorded in Bangladesh?
- The highest recorded value was 10.44 million hectares in 1989.
- What is the lowest agricultural land use recorded in Bangladesh?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.10 million hectares in 2014.
- How does Bangladesh rank for agricultural land use?
- Bangladesh ranks 77th out of 227 countries with data for 2023.
- Is agricultural land use rising or falling in Bangladesh?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Bangladesh 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 use. 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
Land used for cultivation of crops and animal husbandry. The total of areas under cropland and permanent meadows and pastures.