Land area in Africa

Africa: Land area was 2.94 billion hectares in 2011. β–² Rising

Latest (2011)
2.94 billion hectares
Change on year
unchanged
Rank
1st
of 2 regions
All-time high
2.94 billion hectares
in 1961
All-time low
10.10 million hectares
in 1960
Years of data
52
1960–2011

Land area in Africa, 1960–2011

01.0B2.0B3.0B196019852011

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site. Measured in hectares.

Analysis

The most recent figure for land area in Africa is 2.94 billion hectares, measured in 2011.

Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, land area in Africa peaked at 2.94 billion hectares in 1961 and was at its lowest, 10.10 million hectares, in 1960.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 52 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 2.65 billion hectares 10.10 million hectares 2.94 billion hectares 10
1970s 2.94 billion hectares 2.94 billion hectares 2.94 billion hectares 10
1980s 2.94 billion hectares 2.94 billion hectares 2.94 billion hectares 10
1990s 2.94 billion hectares 2.94 billion hectares 2.94 billion hectares 10
2000s 2.94 billion hectares 2.94 billion hectares 2.94 billion hectares 10
2010s 2.94 billion hectares 2.94 billion hectares 2.94 billion hectares 2

Countries ranked near Africa

  1. 1 Algeria 238.17 million hectares compare
  2. 2 Sudan 237.60 million hectares compare
  3. 3 Democratic Republic of Congo 226.71 million hectares compare
  4. 4 Libya 175.95 million hectares compare

See the full ranking of 59 places β†’

More agriculture & rural data for Africa

All data for Africa β†’

Frequently asked questions

What is land area in Africa?
Land area in Africa was 2.94 billion hectares in 2011, according to Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site.
What is the highest land area recorded in Africa?
The highest recorded value was 2.94 billion hectares in 1961.
What is the lowest land area recorded in Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 10.10 million hectares in 1960.
How does Africa rank for land area?
Africa ranks 1st out of 2 regions with data for 2011.
Is land area rising or falling in Africa?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Africa data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site, published as part of Land area (hectares). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV Β· JSON β€” 52 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Land area in Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site. Retrieved 17 August 2026, from https://agriculture.statizoid.com/stat/land-area-hectares/africa/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://agriculture.statizoid.com/stat/land-area-hectares/africa/">Land area in Africa</a> β€” Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Land area (hectares)
Unit
hectares
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
59 places, 2,983 data points, 1960–2011
Last refreshed

Land area is a country's total area, excluding area under inland water bodies, national claims to continental shelf, and exclusive economic zones. In most cases the definition of inland water bodies includes major rivers and lakes.