Cropland area in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Cropland area was 2.57 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Cropland area in Sri Lanka, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 2.57 million hectares for cropland area in 2023. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 8.2% on the previous year and up 11.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, cropland area in Sri Lanka peaked at 2.57 million hectares in 2023 and was at its lowest, 1.52 million hectares, in 1962.
Sri Lanka ranks 79th of 219 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 | 1.80 million hectares | 1.52 million hectares | 1.89 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.94 million hectares | 1.89 million hectares | 2.03 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.89 million hectares | 1.86 million hectares | 1.91 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.89 million hectares | 1.88 million hectares | 1.91 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.98 million hectares | 1.85 million hectares | 2.17 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.30 million hectares | 2.18 million hectares | 2.37 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.42 million hectares | 2.37 million hectares | 2.57 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
- 76 Guatemala 2.74 million hectares compare
- 77 Central African Republic 2.68 million hectares compare
- 78 South Sudan 2.57 million hectares compare
- 80 Czechia 2.57 million hectares compare
- 81 North Korea 2.55 million hectares compare
- 82 Sweden 2.53 million hectares compare
More agriculture & rural data for Sri Lanka
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 9.10 billion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 8.4% (2025)
- Rural population 17.31 million (2025)
- Rural population growth -0.9% (2025)
- Rural population 79.5% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.7% (2024)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 8.4% (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 8.4% (2025)
- Land under cereal production 1.25 million hectares (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is cropland area in Sri Lanka?
- Cropland area in Sri Lanka was 2.57 million hectares 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 cropland area recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 2.57 million hectares in 2023.
- What is the lowest cropland area recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.52 million hectares in 1962.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for cropland area?
- Sri Lanka ranks 79th out of 219 countries with data for 2023.
- Is cropland area rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- 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 Cropland area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).