Arable land in Zambia
Zambia: Arable land was 0.1834 hectares per person in 2023. ▼ Falling
Arable land in Zambia, 1961–2023
Source: FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in hectares per person.
Analysis
In 2023, arable land in Zambia stood at 0.1834 hectares per person. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.8% on the previous year and down 23.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land in Zambia peaked at 0.7833 hectares per person in 1961 and was at its lowest, 0.1834 hectares per person, in 2023.
Zambia ranks 69th of 206 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.7124 hectares per person | 0.6514 hectares per person | 0.7833 hectares per person | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.5753 hectares per person | 0.4095 hectares per person | 0.651 hectares per person | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.3879 hectares per person | 0.376 hectares per person | 0.4019 hectares per person | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.326 hectares per person | 0.292 hectares per person | 0.3713 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.2517 hectares per person | 0.2327 hectares per person | 0.2839 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.23 hectares per person | 0.2053 hectares per person | 0.2548 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.1913 hectares per person | 0.1834 hectares per person | 0.1994 hectares per person | 4 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
- 66 Sierra Leone 0.1872 hectares per person compare
- 67 Syria 0.1865 hectares per person compare
- 68 Guinea-Bissau 0.1837 hectares per person compare
- 70 Morocco 0.1823 hectares per person compare
- 71 Kyrgyzstan 0.1812 hectares per person compare
- 72 Greece 0.1788 hectares per person compare
More agriculture & rural data for Zambia
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.4% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.7% (2024)
- Rural population 54.1% (2025)
- Rural population growth 1.9% (2025)
- Rural population 11.85 million (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 4.1% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 1.19 billion current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 1.56 million hectares (2023)
- Cereal yield 2,344 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal production 3.66 million metric tons (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is arable land in Zambia?
- Arable land in Zambia was 0.1834 hectares per person in 2023, according to FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
- What is the highest arable land recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 0.7833 hectares per person in 1961.
- What is the lowest arable land recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1834 hectares per person in 2023.
- How does Zambia rank for arable land?
- Zambia ranks 69th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is arable land rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 23.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Zambia data come from?
- The figures come from FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), published as part of Arable land (hectares per person). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Arable land (hectares per person) 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. Land abandoned as a result of shifting cultivation is excluded.