Share of land area used for arable agriculture in Vanuatu
Vanuatu: Share of land area used for arable agriculture was 1.6% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of land area used for arable agriculture in Vanuatu, 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
Vanuatu recorded 1.6% for share of land area used for arable agriculture in 2023. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area used for arable agriculture in Vanuatu peaked at 1.6% in 1983 and was at its lowest, 0.8%, in 1961.
That places Vanuatu 176th out of 206 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Share of land area used for arable agriculture in Vanuatu, year by year
| Year | % of land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.8% | — |
| 1962 | 0.8% | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 0.8% | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.8% | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 1.1% | +30.0% |
| 1966 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 1.2% | +15.4% |
| 1971 | 1.2% | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 1.2% | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 1.2% | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 1.2% | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 1.3% | +6.7% |
| 1976 | 1.3% | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 1.4% | +6.3% |
| 1978 | 1.4% | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 1.5% | +5.9% |
| 1980 | 1.5% | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 1.6% | +5.6% |
| 1982 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 1.6% | +5.3% |
| 1984 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.0% | 0.8% | 1.1% | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.3% | 1.2% | 1.5% | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.6% | 1.5% | 1.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.6% | 1.6% | 1.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.6% | 1.6% | 1.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.6% | 1.6% | 1.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.6% | 1.6% | 1.6% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Vanuatu
More agriculture & rural data for Vanuatu
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 13.88 % change on previous year (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.2663 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 1,054 current US$ per person (2024)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 2.21 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.7768 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 26.6% (2024)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 26.6% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.8% (2011)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.3% (2011)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land area used for arable agriculture in Vanuatu?
- Share of land area used for arable agriculture in Vanuatu was 1.6% 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 Vanuatu?
- The highest recorded value was 1.6% in 1983.
- What is the lowest share of land area used for arable agriculture recorded in Vanuatu?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.8% in 1961.
- How does Vanuatu rank for share of land area used for arable agriculture?
- Vanuatu ranks 176th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of land area used for arable agriculture rising or falling in Vanuatu?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Vanuatu 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.