Arable land in Eswatini
Eswatini: Arable land was 0.1438 hectares per person in 2023. ▼ Falling
Arable land in Eswatini, 1961–2023
Source: FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in hectares per person.
Analysis
In 2023, arable land in Eswatini stood at 0.1438 hectares per person. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.9% on the previous year and down 8.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land in Eswatini peaked at 0.3741 hectares per person in 1967 and was at its lowest, 0.1438 hectares per person, in 2023.
That places Eswatini 86th out of 206 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Arable land in Eswatini, year by year
| Year | hectares per person | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.351 hectares per person | — |
| 1962 | 0.3708 hectares per person | +5.6% |
| 1963 | 0.3489 hectares per person | -5.9% |
| 1964 | 0.3486 hectares per person | -0.1% |
| 1965 | 0.3605 hectares per person | +3.4% |
| 1966 | 0.3737 hectares per person | +3.6% |
| 1967 | 0.3741 hectares per person | +0.1% |
| 1968 | 0.365 hectares per person | -2.4% |
| 1969 | 0.3466 hectares per person | -5.0% |
| 1970 | 0.3377 hectares per person | -2.6% |
| 1971 | 0.3288 hectares per person | -2.6% |
| 1972 | 0.3607 hectares per person | +9.7% |
| 1973 | 0.3507 hectares per person | -2.8% |
| 1974 | 0.3144 hectares per person | -10.3% |
| 1975 | 0.329 hectares per person | +4.6% |
| 1976 | 0.3076 hectares per person | -6.5% |
| 1977 | 0.2757 hectares per person | -10.4% |
| 1978 | 0.3366 hectares per person | +22.1% |
| 1979 | 0.3188 hectares per person | -5.3% |
| 1980 | 0.3067 hectares per person | -3.8% |
| 1981 | 0.2172 hectares per person | -29.2% |
| 1982 | 0.2086 hectares per person | -4.0% |
| 1983 | 0.2018 hectares per person | -3.2% |
| 1984 | 0.2482 hectares per person | +23.0% |
| 1985 | 0.2181 hectares per person | -12.2% |
| 1986 | 0.2096 hectares per person | -3.9% |
| 1987 | 0.2147 hectares per person | +2.4% |
| 1988 | 0.2213 hectares per person | +3.1% |
| 1989 | 0.2292 hectares per person | +3.6% |
| 1990 | 0.2063 hectares per person | -10.0% |
| 1991 | 0.2015 hectares per person | -2.3% |
| 1992 | 0.1897 hectares per person | -5.8% |
| 1993 | 0.1833 hectares per person | -3.4% |
| 1994 | 0.1833 hectares per person | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 0.1834 hectares per person | +0.1% |
| 1996 | 0.1798 hectares per person | -2.0% |
| 1997 | 0.1768 hectares per person | -1.7% |
| 1998 | 0.1746 hectares per person | -1.3% |
| 1999 | 0.1727 hectares per person | -1.1% |
| 2000 | 0.1709 hectares per person | -1.0% |
| 2001 | 0.1694 hectares per person | -0.9% |
| 2002 | 0.168 hectares per person | -0.8% |
| 2003 | 0.1669 hectares per person | -0.7% |
| 2004 | 0.1659 hectares per person | -0.6% |
| 2005 | 0.165 hectares per person | -0.5% |
| 2006 | 0.1632 hectares per person | -1.1% |
| 2007 | 0.1623 hectares per person | -0.6% |
| 2008 | 0.1612 hectares per person | -0.7% |
| 2009 | 0.1602 hectares per person | -0.6% |
| 2010 | 0.1592 hectares per person | -0.6% |
| 2011 | 0.1583 hectares per person | -0.6% |
| 2012 | 0.1575 hectares per person | -0.5% |
| 2013 | 0.1566 hectares per person | -0.5% |
| 2014 | 0.1558 hectares per person | -0.6% |
| 2015 | 0.1549 hectares per person | -0.6% |
| 2016 | 0.154 hectares per person | -0.6% |
| 2017 | 0.1528 hectares per person | -0.8% |
| 2018 | 0.1514 hectares per person | -0.9% |
| 2019 | 0.15 hectares per person | -0.9% |
| 2020 | 0.1484 hectares per person | -1.1% |
| 2021 | 0.1467 hectares per person | -1.1% |
| 2022 | 0.1452 hectares per person | -1.0% |
| 2023 | 0.1438 hectares per person | -0.9% |
Eswatini compared with similar countries
- Eswatini's 0.1438 hectares per person is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.1272 hectares per person, 1.1× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Eswatini's 0.1438 hectares per person is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.1581 hectares per person, 91% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Arable land in Eswatini 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | -29.2% | 0.3067 hectares per person | 0.2172 hectares per person |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.3599 hectares per person | 0.3466 hectares per person | 0.3741 hectares per person | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.326 hectares per person | 0.2757 hectares per person | 0.3607 hectares per person | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.2275 hectares per person | 0.2018 hectares per person | 0.3067 hectares per person | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.1851 hectares per person | 0.1727 hectares per person | 0.2063 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.1653 hectares per person | 0.1602 hectares per person | 0.1709 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.1551 hectares per person | 0.15 hectares per person | 0.1592 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.146 hectares per person | 0.1438 hectares per person | 0.1484 hectares per person | 4 |
Countries ranked near Eswatini
More agriculture & rural data for Eswatini
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 5.08 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0641 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 263.26 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.4281 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.7328 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 6.4% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 6.4% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 6.2% (2023)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.9% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is arable land in Eswatini?
- Arable land in Eswatini was 0.1438 hectares per person in 2023, according to FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
- What is the highest arable land recorded in Eswatini?
- The highest recorded value was 0.3741 hectares per person in 1967.
- What is the lowest arable land recorded in Eswatini?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1438 hectares per person in 2023.
- How does Eswatini rank for arable land?
- Eswatini ranks 86th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is arable land rising or falling in Eswatini?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Eswatini data come from?
- The figures come from FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), published as part of Arable land (hectares per person). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Arable land (hectares per person) includes land defined by the FAO as land under temporary crops (double-cropped areas are counted once), temporary meadows for mowing or for pasture, land under market or kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow. Land abandoned as a result of shifting cultivation is excluded.