Arable land in Benin
Benin: Arable land was 3.55 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Arable land in Benin, 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.
Analysis
The most recent figure for arable land in Benin is 3.55 million hectares, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
That represents a change of up 31.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land in Benin peaked at 3.55 million hectares in 2022 and was at its lowest, 920,000 hectares, in 1961.
Benin ranks 63rd of 206 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.02 million hectares | 920,000 hectares | 1.18 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.35 million hectares | 1.20 million hectares | 1.47 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.57 million hectares | 1.50 million hectares | 1.62 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.86 million hectares | 1.61 million hectares | 2.30 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.53 million hectares | 2.38 million hectares | 2.65 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.84 million hectares | 2.50 million hectares | 3.54 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.48 million hectares | 3.33 million hectares | 3.55 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Benin
More agriculture & rural data for Benin
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 5.63 billion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 22.9% (2025)
- Rural population 6.91 million (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.7% (2025)
- Rural population 46.6% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.8% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 52.9% (2024)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 22.9% (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 22.9% (2025)
- Land under cereal production 2.14 million hectares (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is arable land in Benin?
- Arable land in Benin was 3.55 million hectares 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 Benin?
- The highest recorded value was 3.55 million hectares in 2022.
- What is the lowest arable land recorded in Benin?
- The lowest recorded value was 920,000 hectares in 1961.
- How does Benin rank for arable land?
- Benin ranks 63rd out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is arable land rising or falling in Benin?
- Over the last ten years it is up 31.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Benin 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). 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 (in hectares) 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.