Land area equipped for irrigation in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Land area equipped for irrigation was 7.29 million hectares in 2011. ▲ Rising
Latest (2011)
7.29 million hectares
Change on year
up 0.9%
Rank
2nd
of 6 groups
All-time high
7.29 million hectares
in 2011
All-time low
3.48 million hectares
in 1961
Years of data
51
1961–2011
Land area equipped for irrigation in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1961–2011
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Sub-Saharan Africa recorded 7.29 million hectares for land area equipped for irrigation in 2011. That is the highest value across all 51 years on record.
The figure is up 0.9% on the previous year and up 3.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land area equipped for irrigation in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 7.29 million hectares in 2011 and was at its lowest, 3.48 million hectares, in 1961.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 51 years of available data.
Land area equipped for irrigation in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 3.48 million hectares | — |
| 1962 | 3.54 million hectares | +1.5% |
| 1963 | 3.59 million hectares | +1.4% |
| 1964 | 3.64 million hectares | +1.5% |
| 1965 | 3.71 million hectares | +2.1% |
| 1966 | 3.76 million hectares | +1.3% |
| 1967 | 3.83 million hectares | +1.7% |
| 1968 | 3.88 million hectares | +1.4% |
| 1969 | 3.94 million hectares | +1.5% |
| 1970 | 4.04 million hectares | +2.4% |
| 1971 | 4.11 million hectares | +1.8% |
| 1972 | 4.14 million hectares | +0.8% |
| 1973 | 4.23 million hectares | +2.1% |
| 1974 | 4.31 million hectares | +1.9% |
| 1975 | 4.39 million hectares | +1.9% |
| 1976 | 4.49 million hectares | +2.3% |
| 1977 | 4.60 million hectares | +2.4% |
| 1978 | 4.73 million hectares | +2.9% |
| 1979 | 4.81 million hectares | +1.9% |
| 1980 | 4.90 million hectares | +1.8% |
| 1981 | 4.98 million hectares | +1.6% |
| 1982 | 5.04 million hectares | +1.2% |
| 1983 | 5.10 million hectares | +1.1% |
| 1984 | 5.20 million hectares | +2.1% |
| 1985 | 5.34 million hectares | +2.7% |
| 1986 | 5.51 million hectares | +3.1% |
| 1987 | 5.60 million hectares | +1.7% |
| 1988 | 5.69 million hectares | +1.7% |
| 1989 | 5.82 million hectares | +2.2% |
| 1990 | 5.94 million hectares | +2.1% |
| 1991 | 5.98 million hectares | +0.6% |
| 1992 | 6.09 million hectares | +1.8% |
| 1993 | 6.32 million hectares | +3.9% |
| 1994 | 6.37 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 1995 | 6.52 million hectares | +2.3% |
| 1996 | 6.58 million hectares | +1.1% |
| 1997 | 6.73 million hectares | +2.2% |
| 1998 | 6.82 million hectares | +1.3% |
| 1999 | 6.93 million hectares | +1.7% |
| 2000 | 7.02 million hectares | +1.2% |
| 2001 | 7.06 million hectares | +0.6% |
| 2002 | 7.11 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 2003 | 7.14 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 7.15 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 7.18 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 7.20 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 7.20 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2008 | 7.21 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 7.22 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 7.22 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 7.29 million hectares | +0.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.71 million hectares | 3.48 million hectares | 3.94 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 4.38 million hectares | 4.04 million hectares | 4.81 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 5.32 million hectares | 4.90 million hectares | 5.82 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 6.43 million hectares | 5.94 million hectares | 6.93 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.15 million hectares | 7.02 million hectares | 7.22 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.25 million hectares | 7.22 million hectares | 7.29 million hectares | 2 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
- 1 Egypt 3.67 million hectares compare
- 2 Sudan 1.89 million hectares compare
- 3 South Africa 1.60 million hectares compare
- 4 Morocco 1.46 million hectares compare
- 5 Madagascar 1.09 million hectares compare
More agriculture & rural data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 10.7 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.5534 units per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.1791 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 299.6 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1.53 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0003 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 395.96 billion current US$ (2025)
- Rural population 55.3% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.0% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.6% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land area equipped for irrigation in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Land area equipped for irrigation in Sub-Saharan Africa was 7.29 million hectares in 2011, according to Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site.
- What is the highest land area equipped for irrigation recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 7.29 million hectares in 2011.
- What is the lowest land area equipped for irrigation recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.48 million hectares in 1961.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for land area equipped for irrigation?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 2nd out of 6 groups with data for 2011.
- Is land area equipped for irrigation rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site, published as part of Land area equipped for irrigation (hectares). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 51 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Area equipped to provide water (via irrigation) to the crops. It includes areas equipped for full and partial control irrigation, equipped lowland areas, pastures, and areas equipped for spate irrigation. Data are expressed in 1000 hectares.