Agricultural land use in Benin
Benin: Agricultural land use was 4.72 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Agricultural land use in Benin, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
In 2023, agricultural land use in Benin stood at 4.72 million hectares.
The figure is down 2.9% on the previous year and up 18.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural land use in Benin peaked at 4.86 million hectares in 2022 and was at its lowest, 1.41 million hectares, in 1961.
Benin ranks 91st of 226 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.52 million hectares | 1.41 million hectares | 1.69 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.85 million hectares | 1.71 million hectares | 1.97 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.12 million hectares | 2.00 million hectares | 2.21 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.58 million hectares | 2.26 million hectares | 3.11 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.43 million hectares | 3.19 million hectares | 3.74 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.00 million hectares | 3.49 million hectares | 4.63 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.66 million hectares | 4.43 million hectares | 4.86 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Benin
More agriculture & rural data for Benin
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 5.63 billion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 22.9% (2025)
- Rural population 6.91 million (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.7% (2025)
- Rural population 46.6% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.8% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 52.9% (2024)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 22.9% (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 22.9% (2025)
- Land under cereal production 2.14 million hectares (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural land use in Benin?
- Agricultural land use in Benin was 4.72 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 Benin?
- The highest recorded value was 4.86 million hectares in 2022.
- What is the lowest agricultural land use recorded in Benin?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.41 million hectares in 1961.
- How does Benin rank for agricultural land use?
- Benin ranks 91st out of 226 countries with data for 2023.
- Is agricultural land use rising or falling in Benin?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Benin 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.