Land area in Least developed countries: UN classification
Least developed countries: UN classification: Land area was 20.36 million sq. km in 2023. ▲ Rising
Land area in Least developed countries: UN classification, 1961–2023
Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in sq. km.
Analysis
Least developed countries: UN classification recorded 20.36 million sq. km for land area in 2023.
That represents a change of down 0.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land area in Least developed countries: UN classification peaked at 20.36 million sq. km in 2012 and was at its lowest, 16.61 million sq. km, in 1975.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 16.61 million sq. km | 16.61 million sq. km | 16.61 million sq. km | 9 |
| 1970s | 16.61 million sq. km | 16.61 million sq. km | 16.61 million sq. km | 10 |
| 1980s | 16.61 million sq. km | 16.61 million sq. km | 16.61 million sq. km | 10 |
| 1990s | 17.38 million sq. km | 16.61 million sq. km | 17.71 million sq. km | 10 |
| 2000s | 17.80 million sq. km | 17.71 million sq. km | 17.86 million sq. km | 10 |
| 2010s | 19.86 million sq. km | 17.86 million sq. km | 20.36 million sq. km | 10 |
| 2020s | 20.36 million sq. km | 20.36 million sq. km | 20.36 million sq. km | 4 |
More agriculture & rural data for Least developed countries: UN classification
- Agricultural raw materials exports 3.1% (2023)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.2% (2019)
- Rural population 63.4% (2025)
- Rural population growth 1.5% (2025)
- Rural population 769.36 million (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 20.4% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 337.24 billion current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 85.37 million hectares (2024)
- Cereal yield 2,147 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal production 183.30 million metric tons (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land area in Least developed countries: UN classification?
- Land area in Least developed countries: UN classification was 20.36 million sq. km in 2023, according to FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
- What is the highest land area recorded in Least developed countries: UN classification?
- The highest recorded value was 20.36 million sq. km in 2012.
- What is the lowest land area recorded in Least developed countries: UN classification?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.61 million sq. km in 1975.
- Is land area rising or falling in Least developed countries: UN classification?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Least developed countries: UN classification data come from?
- The figures come from FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), published as part of Land area (sq. km). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Land area is a country's total area, excluding area under inland water bodies, national claims to continental shelf, and exclusive economic zones. In most cases the definition of inland water bodies includes major rivers and lakes.