Is agricultural land expanding? Change over the prior decade in Malaysia
Malaysia: Is agricultural land expanding? Change over the prior decade was 6.3% in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Is agricultural land expanding? Change over the prior decade in Malaysia, 1971–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Malaysia recorded 6.3% for is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade in 2023.
The figure is down 33.0% on the previous year and down 52.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade in Malaysia peaked at 38.9% in 1989 and was at its lowest, 1.6%, in 2006.
That places Malaysia 31st out of 225 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
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 Malaysia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 28.3% | — |
| 1972 | 29.5% | +4.1% |
| 1973 | 27.0% | -8.4% |
| 1974 | 26.5% | -2.0% |
| 1975 | 24.5% | -7.4% |
| 1976 | 26.6% | +8.4% |
| 1977 | 28.0% | +5.3% |
| 1978 | 27.8% | -0.5% |
| 1979 | 28.8% | +3.6% |
| 1980 | 26.6% | -7.9% |
| 1981 | 27.4% | +3.3% |
| 1982 | 25.2% | -8.2% |
| 1983 | 25.1% | -0.3% |
| 1984 | 23.6% | -6.1% |
| 1985 | 24.4% | +3.5% |
| 1986 | 28.8% | +18.3% |
| 1987 | 32.9% | +14.0% |
| 1988 | 35.0% | +6.4% |
| 1989 | 38.9% | +11.3% |
| 1990 | 37.4% | -3.8% |
| 1991 | 34.7% | -7.3% |
| 1992 | 33.3% | -4.1% |
| 1993 | 32.4% | -2.6% |
| 1994 | 34.0% | +5.1% |
| 1995 | 28.6% | -15.9% |
| 1996 | 21.7% | -24.2% |
| 1997 | 14.6% | -32.8% |
| 1998 | 8.8% | -39.7% |
| 1999 | 3.4% | -61.8% |
| 2000 | 2.7% | -19.6% |
| 2001 | 2.2% | -16.7% |
| 2002 | 3.4% | +51.2% |
| 2003 | 3.3% | -3.9% |
| 2004 | 2.0% | -38.3% |
| 2005 | 2.4% | +20.0% |
| 2006 | 1.6% | -32.2% |
| 2007 | 2.1% | +30.2% |
| 2008 | 3.0% | +38.8% |
| 2009 | 3.9% | +32.6% |
| 2010 | 6.5% | +65.3% |
| 2011 | 8.4% | +29.4% |
| 2012 | 11.2% | +33.9% |
| 2013 | 13.3% | +17.8% |
| 2014 | 13.4% | +1.3% |
| 2015 | 20.1% | +49.9% |
| 2016 | 21.1% | +5.1% |
| 2017 | 20.6% | -2.6% |
| 2018 | 19.9% | -3.5% |
| 2019 | 18.7% | -5.8% |
| 2020 | 16.0% | -14.5% |
| 2021 | 13.8% | -13.6% |
| 2022 | 9.5% | -31.4% |
| 2023 | 6.3% | -33.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 27.4% | 24.5% | 29.5% | 9 |
| 1980s | 28.8% | 23.6% | 38.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 24.9% | 3.4% | 37.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.7% | 1.6% | 3.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 15.3% | 6.5% | 21.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 11.4% | 6.3% | 16.0% | 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 is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade in Malaysia?
- Is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade in Malaysia was 6.3% 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 Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 38.9% in 1989.
- What is the lowest is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.6% in 2006.
- How does Malaysia rank for is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade?
- Malaysia ranks 31st out of 225 countries with data for 2023.
- Is is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 52.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- 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 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.