Share of land area used for arable agriculture in Eswatini
Eswatini: Share of land area used for arable agriculture was 10.3% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of land area used for arable agriculture in Eswatini, 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
Eswatini recorded 10.3% for share of land area used for arable agriculture in 2023.
The figure is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area used for arable agriculture in Eswatini peaked at 11.2% in 1989 and was at its lowest, 7.2%, in 1961.
That places Eswatini 101st out of 206 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 arable agriculture in Eswatini, year by year
| Year | % of land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 7.2% | — |
| 1962 | 7.8% | +8.1% |
| 1963 | 7.5% | -3.7% |
| 1964 | 7.7% | +2.3% |
| 1965 | 8.1% | +6.1% |
| 1966 | 8.7% | +6.4% |
| 1967 | 8.9% | +2.7% |
| 1968 | 8.9% | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 8.7% | -2.6% |
| 1970 | 8.7% | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 8.7% | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 9.8% | +12.8% |
| 1973 | 9.8% | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 9.0% | -7.7% |
| 1975 | 9.7% | +7.7% |
| 1976 | 9.4% | -3.6% |
| 1977 | 8.7% | -7.5% |
| 1978 | 10.9% | +26.2% |
| 1979 | 10.7% | -2.1% |
| 1980 | 10.6% | -0.5% |
| 1981 | 7.8% | -26.8% |
| 1982 | 7.7% | -0.7% |
| 1983 | 7.7% | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 9.8% | +27.1% |
| 1985 | 9.0% | -8.9% |
| 1986 | 9.0% | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 9.5% | +6.5% |
| 1988 | 10.3% | +7.9% |
| 1989 | 11.2% | +8.5% |
| 1990 | 10.5% | -6.3% |
| 1991 | 10.6% | +1.7% |
| 1992 | 10.4% | -2.2% |
| 1993 | 10.3% | -0.6% |
| 1994 | 10.3% | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 10.3% | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 10.3% | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 10.3% | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 10.3% | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 10.3% | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 10.3% | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 10.3% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 10.3% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 10.3% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 10.3% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 10.3% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 10.3% | -0.6% |
| 2007 | 10.3% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 10.3% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 10.3% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 10.3% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 10.3% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 10.3% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 10.3% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 10.3% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 10.3% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 10.3% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 10.3% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 10.3% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 10.3% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 10.3% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 10.3% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 10.3% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 10.3% | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 8.2% | 7.2% | 8.9% | 9 |
| 1970s | 9.5% | 8.7% | 10.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 9.3% | 7.7% | 11.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 10.4% | 10.3% | 10.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 10.3% | 10.3% | 10.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 10.3% | 10.3% | 10.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.3% | 10.3% | 10.3% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Eswatini
More agriculture & rural data for Eswatini
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 5.08 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0641 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 263.26 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.4281 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.7328 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 6.4% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 6.4% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 6.2% (2023)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.9% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land area used for arable agriculture in Eswatini?
- Share of land area used for arable agriculture in Eswatini was 10.3% 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 arable agriculture recorded in Eswatini?
- The highest recorded value was 11.2% in 1989.
- What is the lowest share of land area used for arable agriculture recorded in Eswatini?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.2% in 1961.
- How does Eswatini rank for share of land area used for arable agriculture?
- Eswatini ranks 101st out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of land area used for arable agriculture rising or falling in Eswatini?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Eswatini 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 arable 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 arable agriculture, measured as a percentage of total land area. Arable land includes land defined by the FAO as land under temporary crops (double-cropped areas are counted once), temporary meadows for mowing or for pasture, land under market or kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow.