Agricultural land use in Ghana
Ghana: Agricultural land use was 12.60 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
12.60 million hectares
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
67th
of 227 countries
All-time high
13.58 million hectares
in 1997
All-time low
11.70 million hectares
in 1961
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Agricultural land use in Ghana, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Ghana recorded 12.60 million hectares for agricultural land use in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural land use in Ghana peaked at 13.58 million hectares in 1997 and was at its lowest, 11.70 million hectares, in 1961.
That places Ghana 67th 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 Ghana, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 11.70 million hectares | — |
| 1962 | 11.70 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 11.70 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 11.70 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 11.70 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 11.70 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 11.70 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 11.70 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 11.70 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 11.70 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 11.70 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 11.70 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 11.70 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 11.70 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 11.80 million hectares | +0.9% |
| 1976 | 11.80 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 11.80 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 11.90 million hectares | +0.8% |
| 1979 | 11.90 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 11.90 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 11.90 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 12.09 million hectares | +1.6% |
| 1983 | 12.08 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1984 | 12.28 million hectares | +1.6% |
| 1985 | 12.37 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 1986 | 12.36 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1987 | 12.45 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 1988 | 12.54 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 1989 | 12.54 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1990 | 12.63 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 1991 | 12.72 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 1992 | 12.72 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 12.80 million hectares | +0.6% |
| 1994 | 12.90 million hectares | +0.8% |
| 1995 | 13.10 million hectares | +1.6% |
| 1996 | 13.30 million hectares | +1.5% |
| 1997 | 13.58 million hectares | +2.1% |
| 1998 | 12.99 million hectares | -4.4% |
| 1999 | 13.06 million hectares | +0.6% |
| 2000 | 12.77 million hectares | -2.3% |
| 2001 | 12.90 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 2002 | 13.05 million hectares | +1.2% |
| 2003 | 12.59 million hectares | -3.5% |
| 2004 | 11.87 million hectares | -5.7% |
| 2005 | 12.12 million hectares | +2.1% |
| 2006 | 12.04 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 2007 | 12.47 million hectares | +3.6% |
| 2008 | 12.00 million hectares | -3.7% |
| 2009 | 12.31 million hectares | +2.5% |
| 2010 | 12.40 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 2011 | 12.31 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2012 | 12.35 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 12.46 million hectares | +0.9% |
| 2014 | 12.37 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2015 | 12.42 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 12.36 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 12.08 million hectares | -2.2% |
| 2018 | 12.22 million hectares | +1.1% |
| 2019 | 12.48 million hectares | +2.1% |
| 2020 | 12.60 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 2021 | 12.60 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 12.60 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 12.60 million hectares | +0.0% |
Ghana compared with similar countries
- Ghana's 12.60 million hectares is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 9.40 million hectares, 1.3× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Ghana's 12.60 million hectares is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 13.51 million hectares, 93% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 11.70 million hectares | 11.70 million hectares | 11.70 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 11.77 million hectares | 11.70 million hectares | 11.90 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 12.25 million hectares | 11.90 million hectares | 12.54 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 12.98 million hectares | 12.63 million hectares | 13.58 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 12.41 million hectares | 11.87 million hectares | 13.05 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.35 million hectares | 12.08 million hectares | 12.48 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.60 million hectares | 12.60 million hectares | 12.60 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Ghana
More agriculture & rural data for Ghana
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 41.79 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.2128 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 692.99 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.4821 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.4108 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 21.3% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 21.3% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.1% (2023)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.6% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural land use in Ghana?
- Agricultural land use in Ghana was 12.60 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 Ghana?
- The highest recorded value was 13.58 million hectares in 1997.
- What is the lowest agricultural land use recorded in Ghana?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.70 million hectares in 1961.
- How does Ghana rank for agricultural land use?
- Ghana ranks 67th out of 227 countries with data for 2023.
- Is agricultural land use rising or falling in Ghana?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ghana 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.