What is land area in Sub-Saharan Africa?

Land area in Sub-Saharan Africa was 23.90 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 Sub-Saharan Africa?

The highest recorded value was 23.90 million sq. km in 2021.

What is the lowest land area recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?

The lowest recorded value was 20.14 million sq. km in 1975.

Is land area rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?

Over the last ten years it is up 0.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa 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.

Land area in Sub-Saharan Africa

Name: Land area in Sub-Saharan Africa
Creator: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
License: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)

Sub-Saharan Africa: Land area was 23.90 million sq. km in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)

23.90 million sq. km

Change on year

unchanged

All-time high

23.90 million sq. km

in 2021

All-time low

20.14 million sq. km

in 1975

Years of data

1961–2023

Land area in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1961–2023

Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in sq. km.

Analysis

The most recent figure for land area in Sub-Saharan Africa is 23.90 million sq. km, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, land area in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 23.90 million sq. km in 2021 and was at its lowest, 20.14 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	20.14 million sq. km	20.14 million sq. km	20.14 million sq. km	9
1970s	20.14 million sq. km	20.14 million sq. km	20.14 million sq. km	10
1980s	20.14 million sq. km	20.14 million sq. km	20.14 million sq. km	10
1990s	20.91 million sq. km	20.14 million sq. km	21.24 million sq. km	10
2000s	21.33 million sq. km	21.24 million sq. km	21.39 million sq. km	10
2010s	23.39 million sq. km	21.39 million sq. km	23.90 million sq. km	10
2020s	23.90 million sq. km	23.90 million sq. km	23.90 million sq. km	4

More agriculture & rural data for Sub-Saharan Africa

Agricultural raw materials exports 2.6% (2024)
Agricultural raw materials imports 1.0% (2024)
Rural population 55.3% (2025)
Rural population growth 1.5% (2025)
Rural population 731.42 million (2025)
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 17.9% (2025)
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 395.96 billion current US$ (2025)
Land under cereal production 85.37 million hectares (2024)
Cereal yield 1,453 kg per hectare (2024)
Cereal production 124.08 million metric tons (2024)

All data for Sub-Saharan Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is land area in Sub-Saharan Africa?: Land area in Sub-Saharan Africa was 23.90 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 Sub-Saharan Africa?: The highest recorded value was 23.90 million sq. km in 2021.
What is the lowest land area recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?: The lowest recorded value was 20.14 million sq. km in 1975.
Is land area rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?: Over the last ten years it is up 0.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa 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.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

About this data

Indicator: Land area (sq. km)
Unit: sq. km
Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 263 places, 15,310 data points, 1961–2023
Last refreshed: 06 August 2026

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.