Agricultural land use in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Agricultural land use was 3.01 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
3.01 million hectares
Change on year
up 6.9%
World rank
105th
of 227 countries
All-time high
3.01 million hectares
in 2023
All-time low
1.71 million hectares
in 1962
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Agricultural land use in Sri Lanka, 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 Sri Lanka is 3.01 million hectares, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
That represents a change of up 6.9% on the previous year and up 9.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural land use in Sri Lanka peaked at 3.01 million hectares in 2023 and was at its lowest, 1.71 million hectares, in 1962.
That places Sri Lanka 105th 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 Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1.72 million hectares | — |
| 1962 | 1.71 million hectares | -0.9% |
| 1963 | 2.06 million hectares | +20.7% |
| 1964 | 2.10 million hectares | +2.1% |
| 1965 | 2.16 million hectares | +2.5% |
| 1966 | 2.21 million hectares | +2.3% |
| 1967 | 2.25 million hectares | +2.3% |
| 1968 | 2.32 million hectares | +2.9% |
| 1969 | 2.33 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1970 | 2.33 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1971 | 2.34 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1972 | 2.35 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1973 | 2.35 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1974 | 2.36 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1975 | 2.36 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1976 | 2.40 million hectares | +1.6% |
| 1977 | 2.43 million hectares | +1.5% |
| 1978 | 2.47 million hectares | +1.5% |
| 1979 | 2.36 million hectares | -4.5% |
| 1980 | 2.35 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 1981 | 2.35 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 2.30 million hectares | -2.3% |
| 1983 | 2.31 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1984 | 2.31 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1985 | 2.31 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1986 | 2.33 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1987 | 2.33 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1988 | 2.34 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1989 | 2.34 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1990 | 2.34 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 1991 | 2.34 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1992 | 2.34 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1993 | 2.32 million hectares | -1.0% |
| 1994 | 2.32 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1995 | 2.33 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1996 | 2.33 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 2.33 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 2.33 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 2.35 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 2000 | 2.35 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2001 | 2.35 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 2.36 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 2.39 million hectares | +1.3% |
| 2004 | 2.29 million hectares | -4.1% |
| 2005 | 2.49 million hectares | +8.9% |
| 2006 | 2.43 million hectares | -2.5% |
| 2007 | 2.38 million hectares | -2.0% |
| 2008 | 2.60 million hectares | +9.0% |
| 2009 | 2.61 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 2.62 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 2.73 million hectares | +4.2% |
| 2012 | 2.74 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 2.74 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 2.74 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 2.74 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 2.75 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 2.76 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 2.81 million hectares | +1.9% |
| 2019 | 2.81 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2020 | 2.81 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 2.81 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 2.81 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 3.01 million hectares | +6.9% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 3.01 million hectares is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 3.20 million hectares, 94% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 3.01 million hectares is below the median for South Asia, which is 3.38 million hectares, 89% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.10 million hectares | 1.71 million hectares | 2.33 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.37 million hectares | 2.33 million hectares | 2.47 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.33 million hectares | 2.30 million hectares | 2.35 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.33 million hectares | 2.32 million hectares | 2.35 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.42 million hectares | 2.29 million hectares | 2.61 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.74 million hectares | 2.62 million hectares | 2.81 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.86 million hectares | 2.81 million hectares | 3.01 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More agriculture & rural data for Sri Lanka
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 9.1 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0836 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 418.3 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.9172 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.7955 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 8.4% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 8.4% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.7% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.9% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural land use in Sri Lanka?
- Agricultural land use in Sri Lanka was 3.01 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 Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 3.01 million hectares in 2023.
- What is the lowest agricultural land use recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.71 million hectares in 1962.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for agricultural land use?
- Sri Lanka ranks 105th out of 227 countries with data for 2023.
- Is agricultural land use rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sri Lanka 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.