Share of land area used for agriculture in Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo: Share of land area used for agriculture was 15.5% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of land area used for agriculture in Democratic Republic of Congo, 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
Democratic Republic of Congo recorded 15.5% for share of land area used for agriculture in 2023. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
The figure is up 1.2% on the previous year and up 11.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area used for agriculture in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 15.5% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 11.0%, in 1961.
That places Democratic Republic of Congo 164th 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 Democratic Republic of Congo, year by year
| Year | % of land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 11.0% | — |
| 1962 | 11.1% | +0.1% |
| 1963 | 11.1% | +0.1% |
| 1964 | 11.1% | +0.1% |
| 1965 | 11.1% | +0.1% |
| 1966 | 11.1% | +0.1% |
| 1967 | 11.1% | +0.1% |
| 1968 | 11.1% | +0.2% |
| 1969 | 11.2% | +0.2% |
| 1970 | 11.2% | +0.2% |
| 1971 | 11.2% | +0.2% |
| 1972 | 11.2% | +0.2% |
| 1973 | 11.2% | +0.2% |
| 1974 | 11.3% | +0.2% |
| 1975 | 11.3% | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 11.3% | +0.2% |
| 1977 | 11.3% | +0.1% |
| 1978 | 11.3% | +0.1% |
| 1979 | 11.3% | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 11.3% | +0.2% |
| 1981 | 11.4% | +0.2% |
| 1982 | 11.4% | +0.1% |
| 1983 | 11.4% | +0.1% |
| 1984 | 11.4% | +0.2% |
| 1985 | 11.4% | +0.2% |
| 1986 | 11.4% | +0.2% |
| 1987 | 11.4% | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 11.4% | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 11.4% | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 11.5% | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 11.5% | +0.1% |
| 1992 | 11.5% | +0.1% |
| 1993 | 11.5% | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 11.5% | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 11.4% | -0.8% |
| 1996 | 11.4% | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 11.3% | -0.4% |
| 1998 | 11.3% | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 11.3% | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 11.3% | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 11.3% | -0.2% |
| 2002 | 11.3% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 11.3% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 11.3% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 11.3% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 11.3% | +0.1% |
| 2007 | 11.3% | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 11.3% | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 11.9% | +4.6% |
| 2010 | 12.5% | +5.7% |
| 2011 | 13.1% | +4.2% |
| 2012 | 13.6% | +4.2% |
| 2013 | 13.9% | +1.8% |
| 2014 | 14.2% | +2.6% |
| 2015 | 14.3% | +0.6% |
| 2016 | 14.4% | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 14.7% | +1.9% |
| 2018 | 14.8% | +1.0% |
| 2019 | 14.9% | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 14.9% | +0.1% |
| 2021 | 14.9% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 15.3% | +2.4% |
| 2023 | 15.5% | +1.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 11.1% | 11.0% | 11.2% | 9 |
| 1970s | 11.3% | 11.2% | 11.3% | 10 |
| 1980s | 11.4% | 11.3% | 11.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 11.4% | 11.3% | 11.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 11.3% | 11.3% | 11.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.0% | 12.5% | 14.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 15.2% | 14.9% | 15.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo
- 161 Saint Lucia 16.3% compare
- 162 Iceland 16.2% compare
- 163 Republic of Korea 16.1% compare
- 165 Vanuatu 15.3% compare
- 166 American Samoa 14.8% compare
- 167 Chile 14.4% compare
More agriculture & rural data for Democratic Republic of Congo
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.6% (2023)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 2.57 % change on previous year (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 8.9% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.3% (2023)
- Rural population, per capita 0.5489 units per person (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0007 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population 54.9% (2025)
- Rural population 61.93 million (2025)
- Rural population growth 2.5% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 72.04 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land area used for agriculture in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Share of land area used for agriculture in Democratic Republic of Congo was 15.5% 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 Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 15.5% in 2023.
- What is the lowest share of land area used for agriculture recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.0% in 1961.
- How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for share of land area used for agriculture?
- Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 164th out of 209 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of land area used for agriculture rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo 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.
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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.