Agricultural land use in Bhutan
Bhutan: Agricultural land use was 527,000 hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
527,000 hectares
Change on year
up 0.7%
World rank
152nd
of 227 countries
All-time high
593,000 hectares
in 2005
All-time low
361,000 hectares
in 1961
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Agricultural land use in Bhutan, 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 Bhutan is 527,000 hectares, measured in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.7% on the previous year and up 1.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural land use in Bhutan peaked at 593,000 hectares in 2005 and was at its lowest, 361,000 hectares, in 1961.
That places Bhutan 152nd out of 227 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Agricultural land use in Bhutan, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 361,000 hectares | — |
| 1962 | 363,000 hectares | +0.6% |
| 1963 | 363,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 365,000 hectares | +0.6% |
| 1965 | 366,000 hectares | +0.3% |
| 1966 | 368,000 hectares | +0.5% |
| 1967 | 368,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 370,000 hectares | +0.5% |
| 1969 | 370,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 382,000 hectares | +3.2% |
| 1971 | 382,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 385,000 hectares | +0.8% |
| 1973 | 385,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 392,000 hectares | +1.8% |
| 1975 | 392,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 398,000 hectares | +1.5% |
| 1977 | 400,000 hectares | +0.5% |
| 1978 | 400,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 405,000 hectares | +1.2% |
| 1980 | 413,000 hectares | +2.0% |
| 1981 | 413,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 418,000 hectares | +1.2% |
| 1983 | 430,000 hectares | +2.9% |
| 1984 | 444,000 hectares | +3.3% |
| 1985 | 444,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 444,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 465,000 hectares | +4.7% |
| 1988 | 460,000 hectares | -1.1% |
| 1989 | 452,000 hectares | -1.7% |
| 1990 | 454,000 hectares | +0.4% |
| 1991 | 504,000 hectares | +11.0% |
| 1992 | 504,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 505,000 hectares | +0.2% |
| 1994 | 509,000 hectares | +0.8% |
| 1995 | 565,000 hectares | +11.0% |
| 1996 | 570,000 hectares | +0.9% |
| 1997 | 572,000 hectares | +0.4% |
| 1998 | 572,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 572,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 578,000 hectares | +1.0% |
| 2001 | 579,000 hectares | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 580,000 hectares | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 583,000 hectares | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 584,000 hectares | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 593,000 hectares | +1.5% |
| 2006 | 577,000 hectares | -2.7% |
| 2007 | 563,000 hectares | -2.4% |
| 2008 | 521,300 hectares | -7.4% |
| 2009 | 520,000 hectares | -0.2% |
| 2010 | 520,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 519,600 hectares | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 519,600 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 519,600 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 525,600 hectares | +1.2% |
| 2015 | 525,600 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 519,000 hectares | -1.3% |
| 2017 | 513,000 hectares | -1.2% |
| 2018 | 513,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 513,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 516,500 hectares | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 520,000 hectares | +0.7% |
| 2022 | 523,500 hectares | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 527,000 hectares | +0.7% |
Bhutan compared with similar countries
- Bhutan's 527,000 hectares is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 9.40 million hectares, 6% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Bhutan's 527,000 hectares is below the median for South Asia, which is 3.38 million hectares, 16% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 366,000 hectares | 361,000 hectares | 370,000 hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 392,100 hectares | 382,000 hectares | 405,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 438,300 hectares | 413,000 hectares | 465,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 532,700 hectares | 454,000 hectares | 572,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 567,830 hectares | 520,000 hectares | 593,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 518,800 hectares | 513,000 hectares | 525,600 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 521,750 hectares | 516,500 hectares | 527,000 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Bhutan
More agriculture & rural data for Bhutan
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 3.41 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.1368 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 614.64 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.8653 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.5657 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 13.7% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 13.7% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.8% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural land use in Bhutan?
- Agricultural land use in Bhutan was 527,000 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 Bhutan?
- The highest recorded value was 593,000 hectares in 2005.
- What is the lowest agricultural land use recorded in Bhutan?
- The lowest recorded value was 361,000 hectares in 1961.
- How does Bhutan rank for agricultural land use?
- Bhutan ranks 152nd out of 227 countries with data for 2023.
- Is agricultural land use rising or falling in Bhutan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bhutan 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.