Share of land area used for agriculture in Rwanda
Rwanda: Share of land area used for agriculture was 76.3% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of land area used for agriculture in Rwanda, 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
The most recent figure for share of land area used for agriculture in Rwanda is 76.3%, measured in 2023.
The figure is down 4.6% on the previous year and down 4.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area used for agriculture in Rwanda peaked at 81.4% in 2015 and was at its lowest, 53.3%, in 1961.
Rwanda ranks 9th of 209 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Share of land area used for agriculture in Rwanda, year by year
| Year | % of land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 53.3% | — |
| 1962 | 53.7% | +0.8% |
| 1963 | 54.1% | +0.8% |
| 1964 | 54.5% | +0.7% |
| 1965 | 54.9% | +0.7% |
| 1966 | 55.3% | +0.7% |
| 1967 | 55.7% | +0.7% |
| 1968 | 56.1% | +0.6% |
| 1969 | 56.6% | +1.0% |
| 1970 | 56.9% | +0.5% |
| 1971 | 58.7% | +3.1% |
| 1972 | 61.1% | +4.1% |
| 1973 | 61.0% | -0.2% |
| 1974 | 64.2% | +5.2% |
| 1975 | 65.3% | +1.8% |
| 1976 | 66.4% | +1.7% |
| 1977 | 67.5% | +1.6% |
| 1978 | 68.1% | +0.9% |
| 1979 | 68.8% | +1.0% |
| 1980 | 69.5% | +1.1% |
| 1981 | 71.3% | +2.6% |
| 1982 | 71.9% | +0.9% |
| 1983 | 72.6% | +0.8% |
| 1984 | 73.3% | +1.0% |
| 1985 | 73.7% | +0.6% |
| 1986 | 74.2% | +0.6% |
| 1987 | 74.7% | +0.7% |
| 1988 | 75.1% | +0.6% |
| 1989 | 75.2% | +0.1% |
| 1990 | 76.1% | +1.3% |
| 1991 | 76.0% | -0.2% |
| 1992 | 74.4% | -2.1% |
| 1993 | 71.1% | -4.4% |
| 1994 | 62.8% | -11.7% |
| 1995 | 62.8% | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 64.9% | +3.3% |
| 1997 | 66.9% | +3.1% |
| 1998 | 67.7% | +1.2% |
| 1999 | 69.6% | +2.8% |
| 2000 | 74.0% | +6.3% |
| 2001 | 76.9% | +3.9% |
| 2002 | 76.5% | -0.5% |
| 2003 | 76.4% | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 76.3% | -0.2% |
| 2005 | 76.2% | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 76.4% | +0.2% |
| 2007 | 76.1% | -0.3% |
| 2008 | 76.2% | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 77.3% | +1.4% |
| 2010 | 77.9% | +0.8% |
| 2011 | 78.8% | +1.1% |
| 2012 | 79.4% | +0.8% |
| 2013 | 80.3% | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 81.3% | +1.3% |
| 2015 | 81.4% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 81.3% | -0.1% |
| 2017 | 81.3% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 79.0% | -2.8% |
| 2019 | 77.2% | -2.3% |
| 2020 | 79.4% | +2.9% |
| 2021 | 81.3% | +2.3% |
| 2022 | 80.0% | -1.5% |
| 2023 | 76.3% | -4.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 54.9% | 53.3% | 56.6% | 9 |
| 1970s | 63.8% | 56.9% | 68.8% | 10 |
| 1980s | 73.1% | 69.5% | 75.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 69.2% | 62.8% | 76.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 76.2% | 74.0% | 77.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 79.8% | 77.2% | 81.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 79.3% | 76.3% | 81.3% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Rwanda
More agriculture & rural data for Rwanda
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 5.79 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.203 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 228.16 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.6953 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0006 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.6909 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 20.3% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 20.3% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.8% (2022)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.9% (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land area used for agriculture in Rwanda?
- Share of land area used for agriculture in Rwanda was 76.3% 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 Rwanda?
- The highest recorded value was 81.4% in 2015.
- What is the lowest share of land area used for agriculture recorded in Rwanda?
- The lowest recorded value was 53.3% in 1961.
- How does Rwanda rank for share of land area used for agriculture?
- Rwanda ranks 9th out of 209 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of land area used for agriculture rising or falling in Rwanda?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Rwanda 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
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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.