Arable land in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Arable land was 1.37 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Arable land in Sri Lanka, 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
Sri Lanka recorded 1.37 million hectares for arable land in 2023. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
That represents a change of up 5.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land in Sri Lanka peaked at 1.37 million hectares in 2020 and was at its lowest, 577,000 hectares, in 1962.
Sri Lanka ranks 94th 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.
Arable land in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 595,000 hectares | — |
| 1962 | 577,000 hectares | -3.0% |
| 1963 | 792,000 hectares | +37.3% |
| 1964 | 790,000 hectares | -0.3% |
| 1965 | 793,000 hectares | +0.4% |
| 1966 | 792,000 hectares | -0.1% |
| 1967 | 792,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 798,000 hectares | +0.8% |
| 1969 | 804,000 hectares | +0.8% |
| 1970 | 810,000 hectares | +0.7% |
| 1971 | 816,000 hectares | +0.7% |
| 1972 | 822,000 hectares | +0.7% |
| 1973 | 828,000 hectares | +0.7% |
| 1974 | 834,000 hectares | +0.7% |
| 1975 | 889,700 hectares | +6.7% |
| 1976 | 925,100 hectares | +4.0% |
| 1977 | 963,300 hectares | +4.1% |
| 1978 | 999,700 hectares | +3.8% |
| 1979 | 891,500 hectares | -10.8% |
| 1980 | 852,200 hectares | -4.4% |
| 1981 | 880,300 hectares | +3.3% |
| 1982 | 853,600 hectares | -3.0% |
| 1983 | 869,800 hectares | +1.9% |
| 1984 | 879,000 hectares | +1.1% |
| 1985 | 861,800 hectares | -2.0% |
| 1986 | 866,000 hectares | +0.5% |
| 1987 | 876,400 hectares | +1.2% |
| 1988 | 878,800 hectares | +0.3% |
| 1989 | 880,900 hectares | +0.2% |
| 1990 | 889,300 hectares | +1.0% |
| 1991 | 891,700 hectares | +0.3% |
| 1992 | 892,600 hectares | +0.1% |
| 1993 | 875,200 hectares | -1.9% |
| 1994 | 885,800 hectares | +1.2% |
| 1995 | 887,500 hectares | +0.2% |
| 1996 | 881,000 hectares | -0.7% |
| 1997 | 879,500 hectares | -0.2% |
| 1998 | 880,200 hectares | +0.1% |
| 1999 | 885,700 hectares | +0.6% |
| 2000 | 900,400 hectares | +1.7% |
| 2001 | 900,700 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 920,400 hectares | +2.2% |
| 2003 | 950,000 hectares | +3.2% |
| 2004 | 900,000 hectares | -5.3% |
| 2005 | 1.10 million hectares | +22.2% |
| 2006 | 1.05 million hectares | -4.5% |
| 2007 | 1.00 million hectares | -4.8% |
| 2008 | 1.20 million hectares | +20.0% |
| 2009 | 1.20 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 1.20 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 1.30 million hectares | +8.3% |
| 2012 | 1.30 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 1.30 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 1.30 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 1.30 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 1.31 million hectares | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 1.32 million hectares | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 1.37 million hectares | +3.9% |
| 2019 | 1.37 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2020 | 1.37 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 1.37 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 1.37 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 1.37 million hectares | +0.0% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 1.37 million hectares is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.03 million hectares, 1.3× the median. (57 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 1.37 million hectares is below the median for South Asia, which is 1.59 million hectares, 86% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Arable land 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | +37.3% | 577,000 hectares | 792,000 hectares |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 748,111 hectares | 577,000 hectares | 804,000 hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 877,930 hectares | 810,000 hectares | 999,700 hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 869,880 hectares | 852,200 hectares | 880,900 hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 884,850 hectares | 875,200 hectares | 892,600 hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.01 million hectares | 900,000 hectares | 1.20 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.31 million hectares | 1.20 million hectares | 1.37 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.37 million hectares | 1.37 million hectares | 1.37 million hectares | 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 arable land in Sri Lanka?
- Arable land in Sri Lanka was 1.37 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 Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 1.37 million hectares in 2020.
- What is the lowest arable land recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 577,000 hectares in 1962.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for arable land?
- Sri Lanka ranks 94th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is arable land rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sri Lanka 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
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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.