Arable land in Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso: Arable land was 7.91 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Arable land in Burkina Faso, 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.
Analysis
In 2023, arable land in Burkina Faso stood at 7.91 million hectares. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 16.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land in Burkina Faso peaked at 7.91 million hectares in 2022 and was at its lowest, 3.00 million hectares, in 1961.
That places Burkina Faso 31st out of 206 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.00 million hectares | 3.00 million hectares | 3.00 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 3.00 million hectares | 3.00 million hectares | 3.00 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.26 million hectares | 3.00 million hectares | 3.75 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.45 million hectares | 3.88 million hectares | 5.01 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.71 million hectares | 5.14 million hectares | 6.27 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.96 million hectares | 6.40 million hectares | 7.53 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.81 million hectares | 7.66 million hectares | 7.91 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Burkina Faso
More agriculture & rural data for Burkina Faso
- Agricultural raw materials exports 6.0% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.4% (2024)
- Rural population 71.1% (2025)
- Rural population growth 1.4% (2025)
- Rural population 17.11 million (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 19.9% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 5.51 billion current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 4.35 million hectares (2024)
- Cereal yield 1,198 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal production 5.21 million metric tons (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is arable land in Burkina Faso?
- Arable land in Burkina Faso was 7.91 million hectares 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 Burkina Faso?
- The highest recorded value was 7.91 million hectares in 2022.
- What is the lowest arable land recorded in Burkina Faso?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.00 million hectares in 1961.
- How does Burkina Faso rank for arable land?
- Burkina Faso ranks 31st out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is arable land rising or falling in Burkina Faso?
- Over the last ten years it is up 16.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Burkina Faso 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). 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 (in hectares) 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.