Share of land area used for arable agriculture in Myanmar
Myanmar: Share of land area used for arable agriculture was 16.9% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of land area used for arable agriculture in Myanmar, 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
In 2023, share of land area used for arable agriculture in Myanmar stood at 16.9%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.2% on the previous year and up 2.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area used for arable agriculture in Myanmar peaked at 17.0% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 14.5%, in 1973.
That places Myanmar 60th 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 Myanmar, year by year
| Year | % of land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 15.1% | — |
| 1962 | 15.2% | +0.1% |
| 1963 | 15.2% | +0.1% |
| 1964 | 15.2% | +0.1% |
| 1965 | 15.2% | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 15.2% | +0.1% |
| 1967 | 15.2% | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 15.2% | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 15.2% | +0.1% |
| 1970 | 15.3% | +0.2% |
| 1971 | 15.3% | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 15.3% | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 14.5% | -4.9% |
| 1974 | 14.5% | +0.1% |
| 1975 | 14.5% | +0.1% |
| 1976 | 14.6% | +0.1% |
| 1977 | 14.6% | +0.3% |
| 1978 | 14.6% | +0.1% |
| 1979 | 14.6% | +0.1% |
| 1980 | 14.6% | +0.1% |
| 1981 | 14.7% | +0.3% |
| 1982 | 14.7% | +0.2% |
| 1983 | 14.7% | -0.1% |
| 1984 | 14.7% | -0.2% |
| 1985 | 14.7% | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 14.7% | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 14.6% | -0.2% |
| 1988 | 14.6% | -0.2% |
| 1989 | 14.6% | -0.1% |
| 1990 | 14.6% | +0.3% |
| 1991 | 14.6% | -0.1% |
| 1992 | 14.6% | -0.2% |
| 1993 | 14.7% | +0.5% |
| 1994 | 14.6% | -0.5% |
| 1995 | 14.6% | +0.1% |
| 1996 | 14.6% | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 14.6% | +0.2% |
| 1998 | 14.6% | -0.0% |
| 1999 | 14.8% | +1.4% |
| 2000 | 15.2% | +2.3% |
| 2001 | 15.3% | +0.8% |
| 2002 | 15.1% | -1.3% |
| 2003 | 15.1% | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 15.2% | +0.6% |
| 2005 | 15.4% | +1.5% |
| 2006 | 15.8% | +2.7% |
| 2007 | 16.2% | +2.3% |
| 2008 | 16.4% | +1.1% |
| 2009 | 16.5% | +0.9% |
| 2010 | 16.5% | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 16.5% | -0.2% |
| 2012 | 16.5% | -0.3% |
| 2013 | 16.5% | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 16.6% | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 16.7% | +1.1% |
| 2016 | 16.8% | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 16.9% | +1.0% |
| 2018 | 17.0% | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 16.8% | -0.8% |
| 2020 | 16.8% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 16.8% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 16.8% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 16.9% | +0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 15.2% | 15.1% | 15.2% | 9 |
| 1970s | 14.8% | 14.5% | 15.3% | 10 |
| 1980s | 14.7% | 14.6% | 14.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 14.6% | 14.6% | 14.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 15.6% | 15.1% | 16.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 16.7% | 16.5% | 17.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 16.8% | 16.8% | 16.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Myanmar
- 57 North Korea 19.1% compare
- 58 Philippines 18.7% compare
- 59 Tunisia 18.2% compare
- 61 Estonia 16.6% compare
- 62 United States of America 16.6% compare
- 63 North Macedonia 16.5% compare
More agriculture & rural data for Myanmar
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 10.26 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.253 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 376.69 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.4495 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0005 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.6942 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 25.3% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 25.3% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 3.3% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.5% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land area used for arable agriculture in Myanmar?
- Share of land area used for arable agriculture in Myanmar was 16.9% 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 Myanmar?
- The highest recorded value was 17.0% in 2018.
- What is the lowest share of land area used for arable agriculture recorded in Myanmar?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.5% in 1973.
- How does Myanmar rank for share of land area used for arable agriculture?
- Myanmar ranks 60th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of land area used for arable agriculture rising or falling in Myanmar?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Myanmar 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.