Land area in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Land area was 2.36 billion hectares in 2011. ▲ Rising
Latest (2011)
2.36 billion hectares
Change on year
unchanged
Rank
2nd
of 6 groups
All-time high
2.36 billion hectares
in 1961
All-time low
10.10 million hectares
in 1960
Years of data
52
1960–2011
Land area in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1960–2011
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Sub-Saharan Africa recorded 2.36 billion hectares for land area in 2011.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, land area in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 2.36 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.
Land area in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 10.10 million hectares | — |
| 1961 | 2.36 billion hectares | +23283.8% |
| 1962 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 2.36 billion hectares | -0.0% |
| 1975 | 2.36 billion hectares | -0.0% |
| 1976 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 2.36 billion hectares | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.13 billion hectares | 10.10 million hectares | 2.36 billion hectares | 10 |
| 1970s | 2.36 billion hectares | 2.36 billion hectares | 2.36 billion hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.36 billion hectares | 2.36 billion hectares | 2.36 billion hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.36 billion hectares | 2.36 billion hectares | 2.36 billion hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.36 billion hectares | 2.36 billion hectares | 2.36 billion hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.36 billion hectares | 2.36 billion hectares | 2.36 billion hectares | 2 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
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 in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Land area in Sub-Saharan Africa was 2.36 billion hectares in 2011, according to Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site.
- What is the highest land area recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 2.36 billion hectares in 1961.
- What is the lowest land area recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.10 million hectares in 1960.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for land area?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 2nd out of 6 groups with data for 2011.
- Is land area rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. 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 (hectares). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 52 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
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.