Share of land area used for agriculture in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Share of land area used for agriculture was 3.1% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of land area used for agriculture in Papua New Guinea, 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
Papua New Guinea recorded 3.1% 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 9.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area used for agriculture in Papua New Guinea peaked at 3.1% in 2017 and was at its lowest, 1.1%, in 1961.
That places Papua New Guinea 201st 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 Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | % of land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1.1% | — |
| 1962 | 1.1% | +2.0% |
| 1963 | 1.2% | +0.8% |
| 1964 | 1.2% | +5.6% |
| 1965 | 1.2% | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 1.2% | -0.5% |
| 1967 | 1.3% | +3.8% |
| 1968 | 1.3% | +3.3% |
| 1969 | 1.3% | +3.4% |
| 1970 | 1.4% | +2.8% |
| 1971 | 1.4% | +3.8% |
| 1972 | 1.5% | +1.5% |
| 1973 | 1.5% | +2.9% |
| 1974 | 1.6% | +4.0% |
| 1975 | 1.6% | +3.1% |
| 1976 | 1.6% | +2.6% |
| 1977 | 1.7% | +1.7% |
| 1978 | 1.7% | +3.3% |
| 1979 | 1.8% | +1.3% |
| 1980 | 1.8% | +0.5% |
| 1981 | 1.8% | +0.8% |
| 1982 | 1.8% | -1.0% |
| 1983 | 1.7% | -0.4% |
| 1984 | 1.8% | +1.9% |
| 1985 | 1.8% | +2.6% |
| 1986 | 1.9% | +3.4% |
| 1987 | 1.9% | +0.7% |
| 1988 | 2.0% | +2.9% |
| 1989 | 2.0% | +2.1% |
| 1990 | 2.0% | +2.4% |
| 1991 | 2.1% | +0.5% |
| 1992 | 2.1% | +1.0% |
| 1993 | 2.1% | +3.1% |
| 1994 | 2.2% | +0.7% |
| 1995 | 2.2% | +1.6% |
| 1996 | 2.2% | +2.2% |
| 1997 | 2.3% | +0.7% |
| 1998 | 2.3% | +4.0% |
| 1999 | 2.4% | +1.6% |
| 2000 | 2.4% | +0.6% |
| 2001 | 2.4% | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 2.4% | +0.9% |
| 2003 | 2.4% | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 2.5% | +1.4% |
| 2005 | 2.5% | +0.9% |
| 2006 | 2.5% | +1.6% |
| 2007 | 2.7% | +5.3% |
| 2008 | 2.7% | +2.7% |
| 2009 | 2.8% | +1.8% |
| 2010 | 2.8% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 2.8% | +1.5% |
| 2012 | 2.8% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 2.8% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 2.9% | +1.5% |
| 2015 | 2.9% | +1.3% |
| 2016 | 2.9% | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 3.1% | +5.8% |
| 2018 | 3.1% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 3.1% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 3.1% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 3.1% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 3.1% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 3.1% | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.2% | 1.1% | 1.3% | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.6% | 1.4% | 1.8% | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.8% | 1.7% | 2.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.2% | 2.0% | 2.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.5% | 2.4% | 2.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.9% | 2.8% | 3.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.1% | 3.1% | 3.1% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
- 198 Equatorial Guinea 3.7% compare
- 199 Guyana 3.4% compare
- 200 Seychelles 3.4% compare
- 202 Norway 2.7% compare
- 203 Brunei Darussalam 2.5% compare
- 204 Bahamas 1.3% compare
More agriculture & rural data for Papua New Guinea
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 0.3264 % change on previous year (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.1702 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 495.76 current US$ per person (2024)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1.31 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0003 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.8422 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 17.0% (2024)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 17.0% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.6% (2023)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.5% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land area used for agriculture in Papua New Guinea?
- Share of land area used for agriculture in Papua New Guinea was 3.1% 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 Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 3.1% in 2017.
- What is the lowest share of land area used for agriculture recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.1% in 1961.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for share of land area used for agriculture?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 201st out of 209 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of land area used for agriculture rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea 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.