Is agricultural land expanding? Change over the prior decade in Bhutan
Bhutan: Is agricultural land expanding? Change over the prior decade was 1.4% in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Is agricultural land expanding? Change over the prior decade in Bhutan, 1971–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade in Bhutan stood at 1.4%.
That represents a change of up 89.7% on the previous year and up 113.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade in Bhutan peaked at 28.4% in 1996 and was at its lowest, -11.4%, in 2015.
Bhutan ranks 61st of 225 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Is agricultural land expanding? Change over the prior decade in Bhutan, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 5.8% | — |
| 1972 | 6.1% | +4.2% |
| 1973 | 6.1% | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 7.4% | +22.1% |
| 1975 | 7.1% | -4.0% |
| 1976 | 8.2% | +14.8% |
| 1977 | 8.7% | +6.7% |
| 1978 | 8.1% | -6.8% |
| 1979 | 9.5% | +16.7% |
| 1980 | 8.1% | -14.2% |
| 1981 | 8.1% | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 8.6% | +5.6% |
| 1983 | 11.7% | +36.4% |
| 1984 | 13.3% | +13.5% |
| 1985 | 13.3% | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 11.6% | -12.9% |
| 1987 | 16.2% | +40.6% |
| 1988 | 15.0% | -7.7% |
| 1989 | 11.6% | -22.6% |
| 1990 | 9.9% | -14.5% |
| 1991 | 22.0% | +122.0% |
| 1992 | 20.6% | -6.6% |
| 1993 | 17.4% | -15.2% |
| 1994 | 14.6% | -16.1% |
| 1995 | 27.3% | +86.2% |
| 1996 | 28.4% | +4.1% |
| 1997 | 23.0% | -18.9% |
| 1998 | 24.3% | +5.8% |
| 1999 | 26.5% | +9.0% |
| 2000 | 27.3% | +2.9% |
| 2001 | 14.9% | -45.5% |
| 2002 | 15.1% | +1.3% |
| 2003 | 15.4% | +2.4% |
| 2004 | 14.7% | -4.6% |
| 2005 | 5.0% | -66.4% |
| 2006 | 1.2% | -75.2% |
| 2007 | -1.6% | -228.1% |
| 2008 | -8.9% | +463.3% |
| 2009 | -9.1% | +2.6% |
| 2010 | -10.0% | +10.4% |
| 2011 | -10.3% | +2.2% |
| 2012 | -10.4% | +1.5% |
| 2013 | -10.9% | +4.4% |
| 2014 | -10.0% | -8.0% |
| 2015 | -11.4% | +13.7% |
| 2016 | -10.1% | -11.6% |
| 2017 | -8.9% | -11.6% |
| 2018 | -1.6% | -82.1% |
| 2019 | -1.3% | -15.5% |
| 2020 | -0.7% | -50.0% |
| 2021 | 0.1% | -111.4% |
| 2022 | 0.8% | +874.9% |
| 2023 | 1.4% | +89.7% |
Bhutan compared with similar countries
- Bhutan's 1.4% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1.1%, 1.3× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Bhutan's 1.4% is above the median for South Asia, which is 0.4%, 3.6× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Is agricultural land expanding? Change over the prior decade in Bhutan changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | +874.9% | 0.1% | 0.8% |
| 2008 | -463.3% | -1.6% | -8.9% |
| 2007 | -228.1% | 1.2% | -1.6% |
| 1991 | +122.0% | 9.9% | 22.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 7.4% | 5.8% | 9.5% | 9 |
| 1980s | 11.7% | 8.1% | 16.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 21.4% | 9.9% | 28.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.4% | -9.1% | 27.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | -8.5% | -11.4% | -1.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.4% | -0.7% | 1.4% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Bhutan
More agriculture & rural data for Bhutan
- Cropland extent over the long-term, annual growth rate -11.57 % change on previous year (2025)
- Cropland extent over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Cropland extent over the long-term, per capita 0.068 hectares per person (2025)
- Agricultural area over the long-term, annual growth rate -1.49 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agricultural area over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0.0001 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agricultural area over the long-term, per capita 0.5864 hectares per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 3.41 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.1368 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 614.64 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.8653 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade in Bhutan?
- Is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade in Bhutan was 1.4% 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 is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade recorded in Bhutan?
- The highest recorded value was 28.4% in 1996.
- What is the lowest is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade recorded in Bhutan?
- The lowest recorded value was -11.4% in 2015.
- How does Bhutan rank for is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade?
- Bhutan ranks 61st out of 225 countries with data for 2023.
- Is is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade rising or falling in Bhutan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 113.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Bhutan 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 Is agricultural land expanding? Change over the prior decade. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 53 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Percentage change in surface area devoted to agriculture with respect to 10 years before. Negative values imply that surface area has decreased with respect to the previous decade. This data is used to assess which countries may have already peaked in their agricultural land use.