Agricultural land use in Rwanda
Rwanda: Agricultural land use was 1.88 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
1.88 million hectares
Change on year
down 4.6%
World rank
122nd
of 227 countries
All-time high
2.01 million hectares
in 2015
All-time low
1.31 million hectares
in 1961
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Agricultural land use in Rwanda, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Rwanda recorded 1.88 million hectares for agricultural land use in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 4.6% on the previous year and down 4.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural land use in Rwanda peaked at 2.01 million hectares in 2015 and was at its lowest, 1.31 million hectares, in 1961.
That places Rwanda 122nd 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 Rwanda, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1.31 million hectares | — |
| 1962 | 1.32 million hectares | +0.8% |
| 1963 | 1.33 million hectares | +0.8% |
| 1964 | 1.34 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 1965 | 1.35 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 1966 | 1.36 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 1967 | 1.38 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 1968 | 1.38 million hectares | +0.6% |
| 1969 | 1.40 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 1970 | 1.40 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1971 | 1.45 million hectares | +3.1% |
| 1972 | 1.51 million hectares | +4.1% |
| 1973 | 1.50 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1974 | 1.58 million hectares | +5.2% |
| 1975 | 1.61 million hectares | +1.8% |
| 1976 | 1.64 million hectares | +1.7% |
| 1977 | 1.67 million hectares | +1.6% |
| 1978 | 1.68 million hectares | +0.9% |
| 1979 | 1.70 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 1980 | 1.72 million hectares | +1.1% |
| 1981 | 1.76 million hectares | +2.6% |
| 1982 | 1.77 million hectares | +0.9% |
| 1983 | 1.79 million hectares | +0.8% |
| 1984 | 1.81 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 1985 | 1.82 million hectares | +0.6% |
| 1986 | 1.83 million hectares | +0.6% |
| 1987 | 1.84 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 1988 | 1.85 million hectares | +0.6% |
| 1989 | 1.85 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1990 | 1.88 million hectares | +1.3% |
| 1991 | 1.88 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1992 | 1.83 million hectares | -2.1% |
| 1993 | 1.75 million hectares | -4.4% |
| 1994 | 1.55 million hectares | -11.7% |
| 1995 | 1.55 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 1.60 million hectares | +3.3% |
| 1997 | 1.65 million hectares | +3.1% |
| 1998 | 1.67 million hectares | +1.2% |
| 1999 | 1.72 million hectares | +2.8% |
| 2000 | 1.83 million hectares | +6.3% |
| 2001 | 1.90 million hectares | +3.9% |
| 2002 | 1.89 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2003 | 1.89 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 1.88 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 2005 | 1.88 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 1.88 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2007 | 1.88 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2008 | 1.88 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 1.91 million hectares | +1.4% |
| 2010 | 1.92 million hectares | +0.8% |
| 2011 | 1.94 million hectares | +1.1% |
| 2012 | 1.96 million hectares | +0.8% |
| 2013 | 1.98 million hectares | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 2.01 million hectares | +1.3% |
| 2015 | 2.01 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 2.00 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2017 | 2.00 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 1.95 million hectares | -2.8% |
| 2019 | 1.90 million hectares | -2.3% |
| 2020 | 1.96 million hectares | +2.9% |
| 2021 | 2.00 million hectares | +2.3% |
| 2022 | 1.97 million hectares | -1.5% |
| 2023 | 1.88 million hectares | -4.6% |
Rwanda compared with similar countries
- Rwanda's 1.88 million hectares is below the median for low income countries, which is 14.61 million hectares, 13% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Rwanda's 1.88 million hectares is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 13.51 million hectares, 14% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.35 million hectares | 1.31 million hectares | 1.40 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.57 million hectares | 1.40 million hectares | 1.70 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.80 million hectares | 1.72 million hectares | 1.85 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.71 million hectares | 1.55 million hectares | 1.88 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.88 million hectares | 1.83 million hectares | 1.91 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.97 million hectares | 1.90 million hectares | 2.01 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.96 million hectares | 1.88 million hectares | 2.00 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Rwanda
More agriculture & rural data for Rwanda
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 5.79 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.203 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 228.16 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.6953 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0006 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.6909 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 20.3% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 20.3% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.8% (2022)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.9% (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural land use in Rwanda?
- Agricultural land use in Rwanda was 1.88 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 Rwanda?
- The highest recorded value was 2.01 million hectares in 2015.
- What is the lowest agricultural land use recorded in Rwanda?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.31 million hectares in 1961.
- How does Rwanda rank for agricultural land use?
- Rwanda ranks 122nd out of 227 countries with data for 2023.
- Is agricultural land use rising or falling in Rwanda?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Rwanda 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.