Share of land area used for agriculture in Cameroon
Cameroon: Share of land area used for agriculture was 20.9% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of land area used for agriculture in Cameroon, 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
Cameroon recorded 20.9% for share of land area used for agriculture in 2023. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.2% on the previous year and up 1.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area used for agriculture in Cameroon peaked at 20.9% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 15.9%, in 1961.
That places Cameroon 147th out of 209 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Share of land area used for agriculture in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | % of land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 15.9% | — |
| 1962 | 16.0% | +0.8% |
| 1963 | 16.1% | +0.7% |
| 1964 | 16.2% | +0.8% |
| 1965 | 16.4% | +0.8% |
| 1966 | 16.5% | +0.8% |
| 1967 | 16.6% | +0.9% |
| 1968 | 16.8% | +0.6% |
| 1969 | 16.9% | +0.6% |
| 1970 | 16.9% | +0.1% |
| 1971 | 17.0% | +0.6% |
| 1972 | 17.1% | +0.8% |
| 1973 | 17.3% | +0.8% |
| 1974 | 17.5% | +1.5% |
| 1975 | 17.8% | +1.4% |
| 1976 | 18.0% | +1.4% |
| 1977 | 18.3% | +1.6% |
| 1978 | 18.3% | +0.3% |
| 1979 | 18.9% | +2.8% |
| 1980 | 18.9% | +0.2% |
| 1981 | 19.0% | +0.3% |
| 1982 | 19.1% | +0.6% |
| 1983 | 19.2% | +0.6% |
| 1984 | 19.3% | +0.6% |
| 1985 | 19.4% | +0.5% |
| 1986 | 19.5% | +0.8% |
| 1987 | 19.5% | -0.2% |
| 1988 | 19.5% | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 19.4% | -0.2% |
| 1990 | 19.4% | -0.2% |
| 1991 | 19.4% | -0.2% |
| 1992 | 19.4% | +0.1% |
| 1993 | 19.4% | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 19.4% | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 19.4% | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 19.4% | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 19.4% | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 19.4% | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 19.4% | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 19.4% | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 19.4% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 19.4% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 19.4% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 19.5% | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 19.5% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 19.5% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 19.5% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 19.6% | +0.5% |
| 2009 | 19.7% | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 20.5% | +4.2% |
| 2011 | 20.6% | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 20.6% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 20.6% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 20.6% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 20.6% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 20.6% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 20.7% | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 20.7% | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 20.8% | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 20.8% | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 20.8% | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 20.9% | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 20.9% | +0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 16.4% | 15.9% | 16.9% | 9 |
| 1970s | 17.7% | 16.9% | 18.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 19.3% | 18.9% | 19.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 19.4% | 19.4% | 19.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 19.5% | 19.4% | 19.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 20.6% | 20.5% | 20.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 20.9% | 20.8% | 20.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Cameroon
- 144 Bosnia and Herzegovina 21.7% compare
- 145 North Korea 21.6% compare
- 146 Ecuador 21.5% compare
- 148 Antigua and Barbuda 20.5% compare
- 149 Nauru 20.0% compare
- 150 Liberia 20.0% compare
More agriculture & rural data for Cameroon
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 0.9031 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.1685 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 332.28 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1.98 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.4433 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 16.8% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 16.8% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 14.9% (2023)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.0% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land area used for agriculture in Cameroon?
- Share of land area used for agriculture in Cameroon was 20.9% 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 Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 20.9% in 2023.
- What is the lowest share of land area used for agriculture recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.9% in 1961.
- How does Cameroon rank for share of land area used for agriculture?
- Cameroon ranks 147th out of 209 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of land area used for agriculture rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Cameroon 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.