Agricultural land use in Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo: Agricultural land use was 35.10 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
35.10 million hectares
Change on year
up 1.2%
World rank
38th
of 227 countries
All-time high
35.10 million hectares
in 2023
All-time low
25.05 million hectares
in 1961
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Agricultural land use in Democratic Republic of Congo, 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 Democratic Republic of Congo is 35.10 million hectares, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.2% on the previous year and up 11.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural land use in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 35.10 million hectares in 2023 and was at its lowest, 25.05 million hectares, in 1961.
That places Democratic Republic of Congo 38th out of 227 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Agricultural land use in Democratic Republic of Congo, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 25.05 million hectares | — |
| 1962 | 25.07 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1963 | 25.10 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1964 | 25.13 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1965 | 25.15 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1966 | 25.17 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1967 | 25.20 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1968 | 25.25 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1969 | 25.30 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1970 | 25.35 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1971 | 25.40 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1972 | 25.45 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1973 | 25.50 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1974 | 25.55 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1975 | 25.55 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 25.60 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1977 | 25.63 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1978 | 25.65 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1979 | 25.65 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 25.70 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1981 | 25.75 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1982 | 25.77 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1983 | 25.80 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1984 | 25.85 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1985 | 25.90 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1986 | 25.95 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1987 | 25.95 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 25.95 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 25.95 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 25.96 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 25.98 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1992 | 26.00 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1993 | 26.00 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 26.00 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 25.80 million hectares | -0.8% |
| 1996 | 25.80 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 25.70 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 1998 | 25.70 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 25.60 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 25.60 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 25.55 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 2002 | 25.55 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 25.55 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 25.55 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 25.55 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 25.59 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2007 | 25.65 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 25.70 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 26.89 million hectares | +4.6% |
| 2010 | 28.43 million hectares | +5.7% |
| 2011 | 29.64 million hectares | +4.2% |
| 2012 | 30.89 million hectares | +4.2% |
| 2013 | 31.43 million hectares | +1.8% |
| 2014 | 32.25 million hectares | +2.6% |
| 2015 | 32.45 million hectares | +0.6% |
| 2016 | 32.67 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 33.29 million hectares | +1.9% |
| 2018 | 33.61 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 2019 | 33.84 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 33.88 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2021 | 33.88 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 34.69 million hectares | +2.4% |
| 2023 | 35.10 million hectares | +1.2% |
Democratic Republic of Congo compared with similar countries
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 35.10 million hectares is above the median for low income countries, which is 14.61 million hectares, 2.4× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 35.10 million hectares is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 13.51 million hectares, 2.6× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 25.16 million hectares | 25.05 million hectares | 25.30 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 25.53 million hectares | 25.35 million hectares | 25.65 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 25.86 million hectares | 25.70 million hectares | 25.95 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 25.85 million hectares | 25.60 million hectares | 26.00 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 25.72 million hectares | 25.55 million hectares | 26.89 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 31.85 million hectares | 28.43 million hectares | 33.84 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 34.39 million hectares | 33.88 million hectares | 35.10 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo
More agriculture & rural data for Democratic Republic of Congo
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 6.48 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0893 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 72.04 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 2.57 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0007 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.5489 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 8.9% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 8.9% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.3% (2023)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.6% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural land use in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Agricultural land use in Democratic Republic of Congo was 35.10 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 Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 35.10 million hectares in 2023.
- What is the lowest agricultural land use recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 25.05 million hectares in 1961.
- How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for agricultural land use?
- Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 38th out of 227 countries with data for 2023.
- Is agricultural land use rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo 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.