Share of land area used for arable agriculture in Rwanda
Rwanda: Share of land area used for arable agriculture was 47.0% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of land area used for arable 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
Rwanda recorded 47.0% for share of land area used for arable agriculture in 2023.
That represents a change of down 6.4% on the previous year and down 8.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area used for arable agriculture in Rwanda peaked at 52.2% in 2017 and was at its lowest, 19.7%, in 1961.
Rwanda ranks 8th of 206 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 arable agriculture in Rwanda, year by year
| Year | % of land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 19.7% | — |
| 1962 | 19.9% | +1.0% |
| 1963 | 20.1% | +1.0% |
| 1964 | 20.3% | +1.0% |
| 1965 | 20.5% | +1.0% |
| 1966 | 20.7% | +1.0% |
| 1967 | 20.9% | +1.0% |
| 1968 | 21.1% | +1.2% |
| 1969 | 21.4% | +1.3% |
| 1970 | 21.2% | -1.1% |
| 1971 | 22.7% | +7.3% |
| 1972 | 25.2% | +10.9% |
| 1973 | 24.7% | -1.8% |
| 1974 | 27.1% | +9.5% |
| 1975 | 27.8% | +2.7% |
| 1976 | 28.4% | +2.0% |
| 1977 | 29.0% | +2.1% |
| 1978 | 29.6% | +2.1% |
| 1979 | 30.2% | +2.1% |
| 1980 | 30.8% | +2.0% |
| 1981 | 31.4% | +2.0% |
| 1982 | 32.0% | +1.9% |
| 1983 | 32.6% | +1.9% |
| 1984 | 33.2% | +1.9% |
| 1985 | 33.5% | +0.9% |
| 1986 | 33.8% | +0.8% |
| 1987 | 34.1% | +1.0% |
| 1988 | 34.4% | +0.8% |
| 1989 | 34.5% | +0.1% |
| 1990 | 35.7% | +3.5% |
| 1991 | 35.7% | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 35.7% | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 34.5% | -3.4% |
| 1994 | 28.4% | -17.6% |
| 1995 | 28.4% | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 30.4% | +7.1% |
| 1997 | 32.4% | +6.7% |
| 1998 | 33.2% | +2.5% |
| 1999 | 35.1% | +5.6% |
| 2000 | 40.5% | +15.5% |
| 2001 | 44.6% | +10.0% |
| 2002 | 45.2% | +1.5% |
| 2003 | 45.4% | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 45.4% | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 45.6% | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 45.7% | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 45.8% | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 45.9% | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 46.9% | +2.3% |
| 2010 | 48.0% | +2.2% |
| 2011 | 49.0% | +2.2% |
| 2012 | 50.1% | +2.1% |
| 2013 | 51.1% | +2.1% |
| 2014 | 52.2% | +2.1% |
| 2015 | 52.2% | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 52.2% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 52.2% | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 50.1% | -4.2% |
| 2019 | 48.3% | -3.5% |
| 2020 | 49.2% | +1.9% |
| 2021 | 51.4% | +4.4% |
| 2022 | 50.2% | -2.4% |
| 2023 | 47.0% | -6.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 20.5% | 19.7% | 21.4% | 9 |
| 1970s | 26.6% | 21.2% | 30.2% | 10 |
| 1980s | 33.0% | 30.8% | 34.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 32.9% | 28.4% | 35.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 45.1% | 40.5% | 46.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 50.5% | 48.0% | 52.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 49.5% | 47.0% | 51.4% | 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 arable agriculture in Rwanda?
- Share of land area used for arable agriculture in Rwanda was 47.0% 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 Rwanda?
- The highest recorded value was 52.2% in 2017.
- What is the lowest share of land area used for arable agriculture recorded in Rwanda?
- The lowest recorded value was 19.7% in 1961.
- How does Rwanda rank for share of land area used for arable agriculture?
- Rwanda ranks 8th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of land area used for arable agriculture rising or falling in Rwanda?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.1%. 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 arable 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 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.