Share of land area used for agriculture in Malawi
Malawi: Share of land area used for agriculture was 64.2% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of land area used for agriculture in Malawi, 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
Malawi recorded 64.2% for share of land area used for agriculture in 2023. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
That represents a change of up 9.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area used for agriculture in Malawi peaked at 64.2% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 33.9%, in 1961.
Malawi ranks 32nd of 209 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Share of land area used for agriculture in Malawi, year by year
| Year | % of land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 33.9% | — |
| 1962 | 35.0% | +3.1% |
| 1963 | 35.5% | +1.5% |
| 1964 | 36.1% | +1.5% |
| 1965 | 38.2% | +6.0% |
| 1966 | 38.7% | +1.4% |
| 1967 | 38.2% | -1.3% |
| 1968 | 39.3% | +2.8% |
| 1969 | 39.8% | +1.3% |
| 1970 | 39.3% | -1.3% |
| 1971 | 40.9% | +4.0% |
| 1972 | 41.4% | +1.3% |
| 1973 | 42.0% | +1.3% |
| 1974 | 42.0% | +0.1% |
| 1975 | 41.5% | -1.3% |
| 1976 | 41.5% | +0.1% |
| 1977 | 41.5% | +0.1% |
| 1978 | 42.1% | +1.4% |
| 1979 | 42.1% | +0.1% |
| 1980 | 40.6% | -3.5% |
| 1981 | 41.7% | +2.6% |
| 1982 | 42.7% | +2.5% |
| 1983 | 41.8% | -2.2% |
| 1984 | 42.3% | +1.3% |
| 1985 | 42.5% | +0.4% |
| 1986 | 43.5% | +2.5% |
| 1987 | 43.6% | +0.1% |
| 1988 | 43.6% | +0.1% |
| 1989 | 44.2% | +1.2% |
| 1990 | 44.7% | +1.3% |
| 1991 | 45.8% | +2.4% |
| 1992 | 45.3% | -1.2% |
| 1993 | 45.3% | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 43.2% | -4.7% |
| 1995 | 45.4% | +5.2% |
| 1996 | 46.5% | +2.3% |
| 1997 | 47.0% | +1.1% |
| 1998 | 48.6% | +3.4% |
| 1999 | 49.6% | +2.2% |
| 2000 | 50.2% | +1.1% |
| 2001 | 51.2% | +2.1% |
| 2002 | 51.2% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 52.8% | +3.1% |
| 2004 | 52.8% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 54.9% | +4.0% |
| 2006 | 56.1% | +2.0% |
| 2007 | 56.1% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 57.6% | +2.8% |
| 2009 | 58.2% | +0.9% |
| 2010 | 58.2% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 58.2% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 58.2% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 58.8% | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 59.9% | +1.9% |
| 2015 | 60.5% | +1.0% |
| 2016 | 61.1% | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 61.7% | +1.0% |
| 2018 | 62.3% | +1.0% |
| 2019 | 62.9% | +0.9% |
| 2020 | 63.5% | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 64.2% | +1.1% |
| 2022 | 64.2% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 64.2% | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 37.2% | 33.9% | 39.8% | 9 |
| 1970s | 41.4% | 39.3% | 42.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 42.7% | 40.6% | 44.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 46.1% | 43.2% | 49.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 54.1% | 50.2% | 58.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 60.2% | 58.2% | 62.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 64.0% | 63.5% | 64.2% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More agriculture & rural data for Malawi
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 24.6 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.3003 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 201.66 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 2.19 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0012 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.8241 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 30.0% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 30.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 2.7% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land area used for agriculture in Malawi?
- Share of land area used for agriculture in Malawi was 64.2% 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 Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 64.2% in 2021.
- What is the lowest share of land area used for agriculture recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 33.9% in 1961.
- How does Malawi rank for share of land area used for agriculture?
- Malawi ranks 32nd out of 209 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of land area used for agriculture rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malawi 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.