Share of land area used for agriculture in Kenya
Kenya: Share of land area used for agriculture was 49.5% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of land area used for agriculture in Kenya, 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
Kenya recorded 49.5% for share of land area used for agriculture in 2023.
The figure is up 0.1% on the previous year and down 0.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area used for agriculture in Kenya peaked at 49.8% in 2013 and was at its lowest, 44.0%, in 1961.
That places Kenya 63rd 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 Kenya, year by year
| Year | % of land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 44.0% | — |
| 1962 | 44.0% | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 44.0% | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 44.0% | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 44.0% | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 44.0% | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 44.1% | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 44.1% | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 44.1% | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 44.1% | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 44.1% | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 44.1% | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 44.1% | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 44.2% | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 44.9% | +1.7% |
| 1976 | 44.9% | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 44.9% | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 44.7% | -0.5% |
| 1979 | 44.7% | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 44.8% | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 44.8% | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 44.8% | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 44.8% | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 44.7% | -0.3% |
| 1985 | 46.2% | +3.4% |
| 1986 | 46.2% | +0.1% |
| 1987 | 46.4% | +0.3% |
| 1988 | 46.8% | +0.9% |
| 1989 | 47.5% | +1.5% |
| 1990 | 47.0% | -1.0% |
| 1991 | 47.2% | +0.4% |
| 1992 | 47.6% | +0.8% |
| 1993 | 47.2% | -0.8% |
| 1994 | 47.9% | +1.5% |
| 1995 | 47.9% | -0.0% |
| 1996 | 46.5% | -2.8% |
| 1997 | 46.8% | +0.6% |
| 1998 | 46.6% | -0.5% |
| 1999 | 47.3% | +1.6% |
| 2000 | 47.0% | -0.7% |
| 2001 | 47.2% | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 47.1% | -0.1% |
| 2003 | 47.2% | +0.2% |
| 2004 | 47.4% | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 47.4% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 47.5% | +0.2% |
| 2007 | 47.6% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 47.6% | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 48.0% | +0.8% |
| 2010 | 48.1% | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 49.1% | +2.0% |
| 2012 | 49.7% | +1.2% |
| 2013 | 49.8% | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 49.7% | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 49.6% | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 49.7% | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 48.9% | -1.5% |
| 2018 | 49.6% | +1.3% |
| 2019 | 49.5% | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 49.4% | -0.3% |
| 2021 | 49.4% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 49.5% | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 49.5% | +0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 44.0% | 44.0% | 44.1% | 9 |
| 1970s | 44.5% | 44.1% | 44.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 45.7% | 44.7% | 47.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 47.2% | 46.5% | 47.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 47.4% | 47.0% | 48.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 49.4% | 48.1% | 49.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 49.4% | 49.4% | 49.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
More agriculture & rural data for Kenya
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 16.52 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.2316 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 547.24 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1.47 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0003 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.6779 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 23.2% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 23.2% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 12.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 2.0% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land area used for agriculture in Kenya?
- Share of land area used for agriculture in Kenya was 49.5% 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 Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 49.8% in 2013.
- What is the lowest share of land area used for agriculture recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 44.0% in 1961.
- How does Kenya rank for share of land area used for agriculture?
- Kenya ranks 63rd out of 209 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of land area used for agriculture rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Kenya 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.