Share of land area used for agriculture in Malaysia
Malaysia: Share of land area used for agriculture was 26.1% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of land area used for agriculture in Malaysia, 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
Malaysia recorded 26.1% 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 6.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area used for agriculture in Malaysia peaked at 26.1% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 9.4%, in 1961.
Malaysia ranks 134th of 209 countries on this measure, 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 Malaysia, year by year
| Year | % of land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 9.4% | — |
| 1962 | 9.6% | +2.1% |
| 1963 | 10.0% | +4.0% |
| 1964 | 10.2% | +1.9% |
| 1965 | 10.6% | +4.8% |
| 1966 | 10.7% | +0.3% |
| 1967 | 10.9% | +1.8% |
| 1968 | 11.3% | +3.6% |
| 1969 | 11.4% | +1.5% |
| 1970 | 11.8% | +3.4% |
| 1971 | 12.0% | +1.9% |
| 1972 | 12.4% | +3.1% |
| 1973 | 12.7% | +2.0% |
| 1974 | 12.8% | +1.5% |
| 1975 | 13.3% | +3.1% |
| 1976 | 13.5% | +2.0% |
| 1977 | 13.9% | +3.0% |
| 1978 | 14.4% | +3.5% |
| 1979 | 14.7% | +2.3% |
| 1980 | 15.0% | +1.6% |
| 1981 | 15.4% | +2.6% |
| 1982 | 15.5% | +1.2% |
| 1983 | 15.8% | +1.9% |
| 1984 | 15.9% | +0.2% |
| 1985 | 16.5% | +3.8% |
| 1986 | 17.4% | +5.6% |
| 1987 | 18.5% | +6.2% |
| 1988 | 19.4% | +5.1% |
| 1989 | 20.5% | +5.3% |
| 1990 | 20.6% | +0.5% |
| 1991 | 20.7% | +0.6% |
| 1992 | 20.7% | +0.2% |
| 1993 | 21.0% | +1.2% |
| 1994 | 21.3% | +1.4% |
| 1995 | 21.2% | -0.4% |
| 1996 | 21.2% | -0.1% |
| 1997 | 21.2% | -0.0% |
| 1998 | 21.1% | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 21.1% | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 21.1% | -0.1% |
| 2001 | 21.1% | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 21.4% | +1.3% |
| 2003 | 21.7% | +1.1% |
| 2004 | 21.7% | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 21.7% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 21.5% | -0.8% |
| 2007 | 21.6% | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 21.8% | +0.6% |
| 2009 | 22.0% | +1.0% |
| 2010 | 22.5% | +2.3% |
| 2011 | 22.9% | +1.9% |
| 2012 | 23.8% | +4.0% |
| 2013 | 24.5% | +2.9% |
| 2014 | 24.6% | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 26.1% | +5.9% |
| 2016 | 26.1% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 26.1% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 26.1% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 26.1% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 26.1% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 26.1% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 26.1% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 26.1% | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 10.4% | 9.4% | 11.4% | 9 |
| 1970s | 13.2% | 11.8% | 14.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | 17.0% | 15.0% | 20.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 21.0% | 20.6% | 21.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 21.6% | 21.1% | 22.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 24.9% | 22.5% | 26.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 26.1% | 26.1% | 26.1% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More agriculture & rural data for Malaysia
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 13.04 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0822 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 1,078 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.913 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.2261 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 8.2% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 8.2% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.1% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.3% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land area used for agriculture in Malaysia?
- Share of land area used for agriculture in Malaysia was 26.1% 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 Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 26.1% in 2016.
- What is the lowest share of land area used for agriculture recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.4% in 1961.
- How does Malaysia rank for share of land area used for agriculture?
- Malaysia ranks 134th out of 209 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of land area used for agriculture rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malaysia 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.