Arable land in Malaysia
Malaysia: Arable land was 784,300 hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Arable land in Malaysia, 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
Malaysia recorded 784,300 hectares for arable land in 2023.
The figure is down 5.0% on the previous year and down 2.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land in Malaysia peaked at 1.08 million hectares in 1979 and was at its lowest, 754,740 hectares, in 1961.
Malaysia ranks 116th 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 | 801,997 hectares | 754,740 hectares | 868,940 hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.03 million hectares | 951,010 hectares | 1.08 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 959,169 hectares | 894,900 hectares | 1.06 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 907,050 hectares | 874,700 hectares | 936,500 hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 898,835 hectares | 827,200 hectares | 967,500 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 833,156 hectares | 802,700 hectares | 868,400 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 815,058 hectares | 784,300 hectares | 825,310 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More agriculture & rural data for Malaysia
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.1% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.3% (2025)
- Rural population 22.6% (2025)
- Rural population growth -0.9% (2025)
- Rural population 8.13 million (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 8.2% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 38.79 billion current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 615,072 hectares (2023)
- Cereal yield 3,524 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal production 2.17 million metric tons (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is arable land in Malaysia?
- Arable land in Malaysia was 784,300 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 Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 1.08 million hectares in 1979.
- What is the lowest arable land recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 754,740 hectares in 1961.
- How does Malaysia rank for arable land?
- Malaysia ranks 116th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is arable land rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malaysia 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.