Share of land area used for arable agriculture in South Sudan
South Sudan: Share of land area used for arable agriculture was 3.9% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Share of land area used for arable agriculture in South Sudan, 2012–2023
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 South Sudan stood at 3.9%.
That represents a change of up 3.9% on the previous year and down 4.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area used for arable agriculture in South Sudan peaked at 4.2% in 2012 and was at its lowest, 3.8%, in 2019.
South Sudan ranks 149th of 206 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 12 years of available data.
Share of land area used for arable agriculture in South Sudan, year by year
| Year | % of land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 4.2% | — |
| 2013 | 4.1% | -1.6% |
| 2014 | 4.1% | -1.6% |
| 2015 | 4.0% | -1.4% |
| 2016 | 4.0% | -1.4% |
| 2017 | 3.9% | -1.4% |
| 2018 | 3.8% | -2.9% |
| 2019 | 3.8% | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 3.8% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 3.8% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 3.8% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 3.9% | +3.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 4.0% | 3.8% | 4.2% | 8 |
| 2020s | 3.8% | 3.8% | 3.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Sudan
- 146 Sao Tome and Principe 4.2% compare
- 147 Ecuador 4.1% compare
- 148 Australia 4.0% compare
- 150 Samoa 3.9% compare
- 151 Turkmenistan 3.4% compare
- 152 Costa Rica 3.3% compare
More agriculture & rural data for South Sudan
- Rural population, per capita 0.7832 units per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 17.13 % change on previous year (2015)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.1036 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2015)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 111.85 current US$ per person (2015)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0008 units per US$ of GDP (2015)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1.66 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population 9.55 million (2025)
- Rural population 78.3% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 10.4% (2015)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 1.24 billion current US$ (2015)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land area used for arable agriculture in South Sudan?
- Share of land area used for arable agriculture in South Sudan was 3.9% 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 South Sudan?
- The highest recorded value was 4.2% in 2012.
- What is the lowest share of land area used for arable agriculture recorded in South Sudan?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.8% in 2019.
- How does South Sudan rank for share of land area used for arable agriculture?
- South Sudan ranks 149th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of land area used for arable agriculture rising or falling in South Sudan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Sudan 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 — 12 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.