Agricultural land use in Ecuador
Ecuador: Agricultural land use was 5.35 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
5.35 million hectares
Change on year
up 0.0%
World rank
86th
of 227 countries
All-time high
8.13 million hectares
in 1994
All-time low
4.71 million hectares
in 1961
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Agricultural land use in Ecuador, 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 Ecuador stood at 5.35 million hectares.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 28.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural land use in Ecuador peaked at 8.13 million hectares in 1994 and was at its lowest, 4.71 million hectares, in 1961.
Ecuador ranks 86th of 227 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.
Agricultural land use in Ecuador, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 4.71 million hectares | — |
| 1962 | 4.71 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 4.72 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1964 | 4.72 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 4.73 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1966 | 4.73 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 4.74 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1968 | 4.74 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1969 | 4.79 million hectares | +1.3% |
| 1970 | 4.86 million hectares | +1.3% |
| 1971 | 4.92 million hectares | +1.2% |
| 1972 | 4.97 million hectares | +1.2% |
| 1973 | 5.04 million hectares | +1.2% |
| 1974 | 5.17 million hectares | +2.6% |
| 1975 | 5.38 million hectares | +4.2% |
| 1976 | 5.55 million hectares | +3.2% |
| 1977 | 5.83 million hectares | +5.0% |
| 1978 | 6.00 million hectares | +2.9% |
| 1979 | 6.19 million hectares | +3.1% |
| 1980 | 6.48 million hectares | +4.7% |
| 1981 | 6.76 million hectares | +4.3% |
| 1982 | 6.96 million hectares | +3.0% |
| 1983 | 7.09 million hectares | +1.9% |
| 1984 | 7.25 million hectares | +2.3% |
| 1985 | 7.42 million hectares | +2.3% |
| 1986 | 7.58 million hectares | +2.2% |
| 1987 | 7.72 million hectares | +1.9% |
| 1988 | 7.73 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1989 | 7.75 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1990 | 7.85 million hectares | +1.2% |
| 1991 | 7.91 million hectares | +0.9% |
| 1992 | 7.95 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1993 | 7.97 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1994 | 8.13 million hectares | +1.9% |
| 1995 | 8.11 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1996 | 7.99 million hectares | -1.5% |
| 1997 | 8.01 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 8.03 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1999 | 8.07 million hectares | +0.6% |
| 2000 | 8.07 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2001 | 7.79 million hectares | -3.5% |
| 2002 | 7.49 million hectares | -3.8% |
| 2003 | 7.25 million hectares | -3.2% |
| 2004 | 7.53 million hectares | +3.8% |
| 2005 | 7.50 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 2006 | 7.44 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2007 | 7.41 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 2008 | 7.45 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 7.53 million hectares | +1.2% |
| 2010 | 7.50 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2011 | 7.35 million hectares | -2.0% |
| 2012 | 7.51 million hectares | +2.2% |
| 2013 | 7.51 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 5.47 million hectares | -27.1% |
| 2015 | 5.79 million hectares | +5.7% |
| 2016 | 5.52 million hectares | -4.7% |
| 2017 | 5.59 million hectares | +1.3% |
| 2018 | 5.45 million hectares | -2.5% |
| 2019 | 5.33 million hectares | -2.2% |
| 2020 | 5.42 million hectares | +1.7% |
| 2021 | 5.47 million hectares | +0.9% |
| 2022 | 5.35 million hectares | -2.2% |
| 2023 | 5.35 million hectares | +0.0% |
Ecuador compared with similar countries
- Ecuador's 5.35 million hectares is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 3.20 million hectares, 1.7× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Ecuador's 5.35 million hectares is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 1.20 million hectares, 4.5× the median. (39 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Agricultural land use in Ecuador changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | -27.1% | 7.51 million hectares | 5.47 million hectares |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 4.73 million hectares | 4.71 million hectares | 4.79 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 5.39 million hectares | 4.86 million hectares | 6.19 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 7.27 million hectares | 6.48 million hectares | 7.75 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 8.00 million hectares | 7.85 million hectares | 8.13 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.55 million hectares | 7.25 million hectares | 8.07 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.30 million hectares | 5.33 million hectares | 7.51 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.40 million hectares | 5.35 million hectares | 5.47 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Ecuador
More agriculture & rural data for Ecuador
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 10.59 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.097 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 691.36 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.4287 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3661 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 9.7% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 9.7% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 3.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.7% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural land use in Ecuador?
- Agricultural land use in Ecuador was 5.35 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 Ecuador?
- The highest recorded value was 8.13 million hectares in 1994.
- What is the lowest agricultural land use recorded in Ecuador?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.71 million hectares in 1961.
- How does Ecuador rank for agricultural land use?
- Ecuador ranks 86th out of 227 countries with data for 2023.
- Is agricultural land use rising or falling in Ecuador?
- Over the last ten years it is down 28.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ecuador 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.