Arable land in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: Arable land was 4.02 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Arable land in Zimbabwe, 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
In 2023, arable land in Zimbabwe stood at 4.02 million hectares.
The figure is down 0.1% on the previous year and down 0.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land in Zimbabwe peaked at 4.25 million hectares in 2008 and was at its lowest, 980,137 hectares, in 1961.
Zimbabwe ranks 58th 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 | 1.14 million hectares | 980,137 hectares | 1.31 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.71 million hectares | 1.38 million hectares | 1.96 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.46 million hectares | 2.04 million hectares | 2.88 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.13 million hectares | 2.80 million hectares | 3.45 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.88 million hectares | 3.60 million hectares | 4.25 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.05 million hectares | 4.00 million hectares | 4.20 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.02 million hectares | 4.02 million hectares | 4.03 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Zimbabwe
More agriculture & rural data for Zimbabwe
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 4.85 billion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 9.5% (2025)
- Rural population 10.09 million (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.9% (2025)
- Rural population 59.5% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.3% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.9% (2024)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 9.5% (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 9.5% (2025)
- Land under cereal production 1.57 million hectares (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is arable land in Zimbabwe?
- Arable land in Zimbabwe was 4.02 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 Zimbabwe?
- The highest recorded value was 4.25 million hectares in 2008.
- What is the lowest arable land recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The lowest recorded value was 980,137 hectares in 1961.
- How does Zimbabwe rank for arable land?
- Zimbabwe ranks 58th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is arable land rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zimbabwe 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.