Agricultural land use in Jamaica
Jamaica: Agricultural land use was 417,000 hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
417,000 hectares
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
153rd
of 227 countries
All-time high
535,000 hectares
in 1962
All-time low
417,000 hectares
in 2015
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Agricultural land use in Jamaica, 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 Jamaica is 417,000 hectares, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural land use in Jamaica peaked at 535,000 hectares in 1962 and was at its lowest, 417,000 hectares, in 2015.
That places Jamaica 153rd out of 227 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Agricultural land use in Jamaica, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 533,000 hectares | — |
| 1962 | 535,000 hectares | +0.4% |
| 1963 | 535,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 533,000 hectares | -0.4% |
| 1965 | 507,000 hectares | -4.9% |
| 1966 | 517,000 hectares | +2.0% |
| 1967 | 517,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 517,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 517,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 507,000 hectares | -1.9% |
| 1971 | 507,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 507,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 507,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 507,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 507,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 507,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 507,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 507,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 497,000 hectares | -2.0% |
| 1980 | 497,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 497,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 487,000 hectares | -2.0% |
| 1983 | 477,000 hectares | -2.1% |
| 1984 | 477,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 477,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 477,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 477,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 477,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 477,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 476,000 hectares | -0.2% |
| 1991 | 476,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 476,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 503,000 hectares | +5.7% |
| 1994 | 500,000 hectares | -0.6% |
| 1995 | 497,000 hectares | -0.6% |
| 1996 | 494,000 hectares | -0.6% |
| 1997 | 489,000 hectares | -1.0% |
| 1998 | 484,000 hectares | -1.0% |
| 1999 | 482,000 hectares | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 479,000 hectares | -0.6% |
| 2001 | 479,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 474,000 hectares | -1.0% |
| 2003 | 474,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 472,000 hectares | -0.4% |
| 2005 | 467,000 hectares | -1.1% |
| 2006 | 467,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 464,000 hectares | -0.6% |
| 2008 | 449,000 hectares | -3.2% |
| 2009 | 446,000 hectares | -0.7% |
| 2010 | 421,300 hectares | -5.5% |
| 2011 | 420,500 hectares | -0.2% |
| 2012 | 419,800 hectares | -0.2% |
| 2013 | 418,800 hectares | -0.2% |
| 2014 | 417,900 hectares | -0.2% |
| 2015 | 417,000 hectares | -0.2% |
| 2016 | 417,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 417,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 417,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 417,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 417,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 417,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 417,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 417,000 hectares | +0.0% |
Jamaica compared with similar countries
- Jamaica's 417,000 hectares is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 3.20 million hectares, 13% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Jamaica's 417,000 hectares is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 1.20 million hectares, 35% of the median. (39 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 523,444 hectares | 507,000 hectares | 535,000 hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 506,000 hectares | 497,000 hectares | 507,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 482,000 hectares | 477,000 hectares | 497,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 487,700 hectares | 476,000 hectares | 503,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 467,100 hectares | 446,000 hectares | 479,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 418,330 hectares | 417,000 hectares | 421,300 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 417,000 hectares | 417,000 hectares | 417,000 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Jamaica
More agriculture & rural data for Jamaica
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 13.16 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0874 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 699.7 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -1.28 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.4057 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 8.7% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 8.7% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.1% (2023)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.9% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural land use in Jamaica?
- Agricultural land use in Jamaica was 417,000 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 Jamaica?
- The highest recorded value was 535,000 hectares in 1962.
- What is the lowest agricultural land use recorded in Jamaica?
- The lowest recorded value was 417,000 hectares in 2015.
- How does Jamaica rank for agricultural land use?
- Jamaica ranks 153rd out of 227 countries with data for 2023.
- Is agricultural land use rising or falling in Jamaica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Jamaica 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.