Share of land area used for agriculture in Bhutan
Bhutan: Share of land area used for agriculture was 13.8% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of land area used for agriculture in Bhutan, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of land area.
Analysis
Bhutan recorded 13.8% for share of land area used for agriculture in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.7% on the previous year and up 1.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area used for agriculture in Bhutan peaked at 15.6% in 2005 and was at its lowest, 7.7%, in 1961.
That places Bhutan 169th out of 209 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Share of land area used for agriculture in Bhutan, year by year
| Year | % of land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 7.7% | — |
| 1962 | 7.8% | +0.6% |
| 1963 | 7.8% | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 7.8% | +0.6% |
| 1965 | 7.8% | +0.3% |
| 1966 | 7.9% | +0.5% |
| 1967 | 7.9% | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 7.9% | +0.5% |
| 1969 | 7.9% | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 8.2% | +3.2% |
| 1971 | 8.2% | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 8.2% | +0.8% |
| 1973 | 8.2% | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 8.4% | +1.8% |
| 1975 | 8.4% | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 8.5% | +1.5% |
| 1977 | 8.6% | +0.5% |
| 1978 | 8.6% | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 8.7% | +1.3% |
| 1980 | 8.8% | +2.0% |
| 1981 | 8.8% | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 8.9% | +1.2% |
| 1983 | 9.2% | +2.9% |
| 1984 | 9.5% | +3.3% |
| 1985 | 9.5% | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 9.5% | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 10.0% | +4.7% |
| 1988 | 9.8% | -1.1% |
| 1989 | 9.7% | -1.7% |
| 1990 | 9.7% | +0.4% |
| 1991 | 10.8% | +11.0% |
| 1992 | 10.8% | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 10.8% | +0.2% |
| 1994 | 12.8% | +18.3% |
| 1995 | 14.2% | +11.0% |
| 1996 | 14.3% | +0.9% |
| 1997 | 14.4% | +0.4% |
| 1998 | 14.4% | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 14.4% | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 14.5% | +1.0% |
| 2001 | 14.5% | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 14.6% | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 14.6% | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 15.3% | +4.6% |
| 2005 | 15.6% | +1.5% |
| 2006 | 15.1% | -2.7% |
| 2007 | 14.8% | -2.4% |
| 2008 | 13.7% | -7.4% |
| 2009 | 13.6% | -0.2% |
| 2010 | 13.6% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 13.6% | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 13.6% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 13.6% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 13.8% | +1.2% |
| 2015 | 13.8% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 13.6% | -1.3% |
| 2017 | 13.4% | -1.2% |
| 2018 | 13.5% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 13.5% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 13.5% | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 13.6% | +0.7% |
| 2022 | 13.7% | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 13.8% | +0.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 7.8% | 7.7% | 7.9% | 9 |
| 1970s | 8.4% | 8.2% | 8.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | 9.4% | 8.8% | 10.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 12.7% | 9.7% | 14.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 14.6% | 13.6% | 15.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 13.6% | 13.4% | 13.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 13.7% | 13.5% | 13.8% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Bhutan
More agriculture & rural data for Bhutan
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 3.41 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.1368 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 614.64 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.8653 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.5657 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 13.7% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 13.7% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.8% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land area used for agriculture in Bhutan?
- Share of land area used for agriculture in Bhutan was 13.8% in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of land area used for agriculture recorded in Bhutan?
- The highest recorded value was 15.6% in 2005.
- What is the lowest share of land area used for agriculture recorded in Bhutan?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.7% in 1961.
- How does Bhutan rank for share of land area used for agriculture?
- Bhutan ranks 169th out of 209 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of land area used for agriculture rising or falling in Bhutan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bhutan data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of land area used for agriculture. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The share of land area used for agriculture, measured as a percentage of total land area. Agricultural land refers to the share of land area that is arable, under permanent crops, and under permanent pastures.