Share of land area used for agriculture in Eswatini
Eswatini: Share of land area used for agriculture was 69.5% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Share of land area used for agriculture in Eswatini, 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
Eswatini recorded 69.5% for share of land area used for agriculture in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
That represents a change of down 1.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area used for agriculture in Eswatini peaked at 88.0% in 1972 and was at its lowest, 69.5%, in 2020.
That places Eswatini 24th out of 209 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Share of land area used for agriculture in Eswatini, year by year
| Year | % of land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 85.3% | — |
| 1962 | 85.9% | +0.7% |
| 1963 | 85.7% | -0.3% |
| 1964 | 85.9% | +0.2% |
| 1965 | 86.3% | +0.5% |
| 1966 | 86.8% | +0.6% |
| 1967 | 87.0% | +0.3% |
| 1968 | 87.1% | +0.1% |
| 1969 | 86.9% | -0.3% |
| 1970 | 86.9% | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 86.9% | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 88.0% | +1.3% |
| 1973 | 88.0% | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 86.2% | -2.0% |
| 1975 | 76.3% | -11.4% |
| 1976 | 79.7% | +4.4% |
| 1977 | 81.0% | +1.6% |
| 1978 | 81.0% | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 77.9% | -3.8% |
| 1980 | 75.1% | -3.7% |
| 1981 | 74.7% | -0.5% |
| 1982 | 74.8% | +0.2% |
| 1983 | 74.9% | +0.2% |
| 1984 | 73.8% | -1.5% |
| 1985 | 74.7% | +1.2% |
| 1986 | 77.3% | +3.5% |
| 1987 | 76.0% | -1.7% |
| 1988 | 74.7% | -1.7% |
| 1989 | 73.5% | -1.6% |
| 1990 | 72.0% | -2.1% |
| 1991 | 71.3% | -0.9% |
| 1992 | 71.1% | -0.3% |
| 1993 | 71.0% | -0.1% |
| 1994 | 71.0% | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 71.0% | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 71.0% | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 71.1% | +0.1% |
| 1998 | 71.1% | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 71.1% | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 71.1% | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 71.2% | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 71.2% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 71.2% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 71.2% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 71.2% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 71.1% | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 71.1% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 71.1% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 71.2% | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 71.0% | -0.2% |
| 2011 | 71.0% | -0.0% |
| 2012 | 70.9% | -0.1% |
| 2013 | 70.9% | -0.1% |
| 2014 | 70.7% | -0.2% |
| 2015 | 70.5% | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 70.2% | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 70.0% | -0.3% |
| 2018 | 69.8% | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 69.6% | -0.3% |
| 2020 | 69.5% | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 69.5% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 69.5% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 69.5% | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 86.3% | 85.3% | 87.1% | 9 |
| 1970s | 83.2% | 76.3% | 88.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 74.9% | 73.5% | 77.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 71.2% | 71.0% | 72.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 71.1% | 71.1% | 71.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 70.5% | 69.6% | 71.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 69.5% | 69.5% | 69.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Eswatini
- 21 Madagascar 70.3% compare
- 22 Togo 70.2% compare
- 23 Faroe Islands 70.1% compare
- 25 Isle of Man 69.1% compare
- 26 Mongolia 69.0% compare
- 27 Morocco 66.7% compare
More agriculture & rural data for Eswatini
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 5.08 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0641 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 263.26 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.4281 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.7328 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 6.4% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 6.4% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 6.2% (2023)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.9% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land area used for agriculture in Eswatini?
- Share of land area used for agriculture in Eswatini was 69.5% 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 Eswatini?
- The highest recorded value was 88.0% in 1972.
- What is the lowest share of land area used for agriculture recorded in Eswatini?
- The lowest recorded value was 69.5% in 2020.
- How does Eswatini rank for share of land area used for agriculture?
- Eswatini ranks 24th out of 209 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of land area used for agriculture rising or falling in Eswatini?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Eswatini 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.