Agricultural land use in Malaysia
Malaysia: Agricultural land use was 8.57 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
8.57 million hectares
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
78th
of 227 countries
All-time high
8.57 million hectares
in 2016
All-time low
3.08 million hectares
in 1961
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Agricultural land use in Malaysia, 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 Malaysia stood at 8.57 million hectares. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
That represents a change of up 6.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural land use in Malaysia peaked at 8.57 million hectares in 2016 and was at its lowest, 3.08 million hectares, in 1961.
That places Malaysia 78th 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 Malaysia, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 3.08 million hectares | — |
| 1962 | 3.15 million hectares | +2.1% |
| 1963 | 3.28 million hectares | +4.0% |
| 1964 | 3.34 million hectares | +1.9% |
| 1965 | 3.50 million hectares | +4.8% |
| 1966 | 3.51 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1967 | 3.57 million hectares | +1.8% |
| 1968 | 3.70 million hectares | +3.6% |
| 1969 | 3.76 million hectares | +1.5% |
| 1970 | 3.89 million hectares | +3.4% |
| 1971 | 3.96 million hectares | +1.9% |
| 1972 | 4.08 million hectares | +3.1% |
| 1973 | 4.16 million hectares | +2.0% |
| 1974 | 4.22 million hectares | +1.5% |
| 1975 | 4.35 million hectares | +3.1% |
| 1976 | 4.44 million hectares | +2.0% |
| 1977 | 4.57 million hectares | +3.0% |
| 1978 | 4.73 million hectares | +3.5% |
| 1979 | 4.84 million hectares | +2.3% |
| 1980 | 4.92 million hectares | +1.6% |
| 1981 | 5.04 million hectares | +2.6% |
| 1982 | 5.11 million hectares | +1.2% |
| 1983 | 5.21 million hectares | +1.9% |
| 1984 | 5.22 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1985 | 5.42 million hectares | +3.8% |
| 1986 | 5.72 million hectares | +5.6% |
| 1987 | 6.07 million hectares | +6.2% |
| 1988 | 6.38 million hectares | +5.1% |
| 1989 | 6.72 million hectares | +5.3% |
| 1990 | 6.76 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1991 | 6.79 million hectares | +0.6% |
| 1992 | 6.81 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1993 | 6.89 million hectares | +1.2% |
| 1994 | 6.99 million hectares | +1.4% |
| 1995 | 6.97 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 1996 | 6.96 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1997 | 6.96 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 1998 | 6.94 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 6.95 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 6.94 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2001 | 6.95 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 7.04 million hectares | +1.3% |
| 2003 | 7.12 million hectares | +1.1% |
| 2004 | 7.13 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 7.13 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 7.08 million hectares | -0.8% |
| 2007 | 7.11 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 7.15 million hectares | +0.6% |
| 2009 | 7.22 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 2010 | 7.39 million hectares | +2.3% |
| 2011 | 7.53 million hectares | +1.9% |
| 2012 | 7.83 million hectares | +4.0% |
| 2013 | 8.06 million hectares | +2.9% |
| 2014 | 8.09 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 8.57 million hectares | +5.9% |
| 2016 | 8.57 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 8.57 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 8.57 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 8.57 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 8.57 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 8.57 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 8.57 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 8.57 million hectares | +0.0% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 8.57 million hectares is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 3.20 million hectares, 2.7× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 8.57 million hectares is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 249,300 hectares, 34.4× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.43 million hectares | 3.08 million hectares | 3.76 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 4.32 million hectares | 3.89 million hectares | 4.84 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 5.58 million hectares | 4.92 million hectares | 6.72 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 6.90 million hectares | 6.76 million hectares | 6.99 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.09 million hectares | 6.94 million hectares | 7.22 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.18 million hectares | 7.39 million hectares | 8.57 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.57 million hectares | 8.57 million hectares | 8.57 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More agriculture & rural data for Malaysia
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 13.04 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0822 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 1,078 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.913 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.2261 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 8.2% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 8.2% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.1% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.3% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural land use in Malaysia?
- Agricultural land use in Malaysia was 8.57 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 Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 8.57 million hectares in 2016.
- What is the lowest agricultural land use recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.08 million hectares in 1961.
- How does Malaysia rank for agricultural land use?
- Malaysia ranks 78th out of 227 countries with data for 2023.
- Is agricultural land use rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malaysia 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.