Is agricultural land expanding? Change over the prior decade in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Is agricultural land expanding? Change over the prior decade was 9.7% in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Is agricultural land expanding? Change over the prior decade in Sri Lanka, 1971–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 9.7% for is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade in 2023.
That represents a change of up 270.7% on the previous year and down 34.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade in Sri Lanka peaked at 37.4% in 1972 and was at its lowest, -5.3%, in 1988.
Sri Lanka ranks 21st of 225 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
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 Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 35.8% | — |
| 1972 | 37.4% | +4.5% |
| 1973 | 14.1% | -62.2% |
| 1974 | 12.1% | -14.5% |
| 1975 | 9.4% | -22.0% |
| 1976 | 8.7% | -8.0% |
| 1977 | 7.9% | -8.9% |
| 1978 | 6.4% | -19.2% |
| 1979 | 1.3% | -79.1% |
| 1980 | 0.7% | -48.5% |
| 1981 | 0.4% | -37.7% |
| 1982 | -2.1% | -588.7% |
| 1983 | -1.8% | -12.5% |
| 1984 | -2.0% | +6.7% |
| 1985 | -1.9% | -4.4% |
| 1986 | -2.9% | +56.6% |
| 1987 | -4.1% | +39.3% |
| 1988 | -5.3% | +31.4% |
| 1989 | -0.8% | -84.9% |
| 1990 | -0.4% | -47.1% |
| 1991 | -0.3% | -30.0% |
| 1992 | 2.1% | -801.5% |
| 1993 | 0.5% | -75.1% |
| 1994 | 0.5% | -0.1% |
| 1995 | 0.5% | -8.5% |
| 1996 | 0.0% | -91.0% |
| 1997 | -0.3% | -697.9% |
| 1998 | -0.3% | +33.2% |
| 1999 | 0.2% | -162.4% |
| 2000 | 0.5% | +120.1% |
| 2001 | 0.4% | -18.3% |
| 2002 | 0.5% | +33.2% |
| 2003 | 2.8% | +454.8% |
| 2004 | -1.5% | -152.4% |
| 2005 | 7.2% | -580.6% |
| 2006 | 4.4% | -38.0% |
| 2007 | 2.3% | -47.3% |
| 2008 | 11.5% | +393.5% |
| 2009 | 11.3% | -2.2% |
| 2010 | 11.5% | +1.8% |
| 2011 | 16.1% | +40.3% |
| 2012 | 16.3% | +1.1% |
| 2013 | 14.8% | -8.9% |
| 2014 | 19.7% | +33.0% |
| 2015 | 9.9% | -49.7% |
| 2016 | 13.2% | +32.5% |
| 2017 | 15.9% | +20.5% |
| 2018 | 8.2% | -48.0% |
| 2019 | 7.7% | -6.1% |
| 2020 | 7.3% | -5.3% |
| 2021 | 3.0% | -59.0% |
| 2022 | 2.6% | -12.5% |
| 2023 | 9.7% | +270.7% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 9.7% is above the median for South Asia, which is 0.4%, 24.4× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Is agricultural land expanding? Change over the prior decade in Sri Lanka 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | +801.5% | -0.3% | 2.1% |
| 1997 | -697.9% | 0.0% | -0.3% |
| 2005 | +580.6% | -1.5% | 7.2% |
| 1982 | -588.7% | 0.4% | -2.1% |
| 2003 | +454.8% | 0.5% | 2.8% |
| 2008 | +393.5% | 2.3% | 11.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 14.8% | 1.3% | 37.4% | 9 |
| 1980s | -2.0% | -5.3% | 0.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.3% | -0.4% | 2.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.9% | -1.5% | 11.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 13.3% | 7.7% | 19.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.7% | 2.6% | 9.7% | 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 is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade in Sri Lanka?
- Is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade in Sri Lanka was 9.7% 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 Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 37.4% in 1972.
- What is the lowest is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was -5.3% in 1988.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade?
- Sri Lanka ranks 21st out of 225 countries with data for 2023.
- Is is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 34.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- 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 Is agricultural land expanding? Change over the prior decade. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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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.