FAO projections of arable land in Botswana
Botswana: FAO projections of arable land was 262,000 hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
262,000 hectares
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
143rd
of 224 countries
All-time high
421,000 hectares
in 1990
All-time low
184,000 hectares
in 2007
Years of data
63
1961–2023
FAO projections of arable land in Botswana, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Botswana recorded 262,000 hectares for fao projections of arable land in 2023.
The figure is down 7.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, fao projections of arable land in Botswana peaked at 421,000 hectares in 1990 and was at its lowest, 184,000 hectares, in 2007.
That places Botswana 143rd out of 224 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
FAO projections of arable land in Botswana, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 400,000 hectares | — |
| 1962 | 400,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 400,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 400,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 401,000 hectares | +0.2% |
| 1966 | 401,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 401,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 401,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 401,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 401,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 401,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 402,000 hectares | +0.2% |
| 1973 | 402,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 402,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 402,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 402,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 402,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 402,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 404,000 hectares | +0.5% |
| 1980 | 404,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 404,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 406,000 hectares | +0.5% |
| 1983 | 406,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 406,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 408,000 hectares | +0.5% |
| 1986 | 408,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 410,000 hectares | +0.5% |
| 1988 | 410,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 415,000 hectares | +1.2% |
| 1990 | 421,000 hectares | +1.4% |
| 1991 | 301,000 hectares | -28.5% |
| 1992 | 251,000 hectares | -16.6% |
| 1993 | 351,000 hectares | +39.8% |
| 1994 | 396,000 hectares | +12.8% |
| 1995 | 346,000 hectares | -12.6% |
| 1996 | 346,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 301,000 hectares | -13.0% |
| 1998 | 231,000 hectares | -23.3% |
| 1999 | 241,000 hectares | +4.3% |
| 2000 | 351,000 hectares | +45.6% |
| 2001 | 201,000 hectares | -42.7% |
| 2002 | 246,000 hectares | +22.4% |
| 2003 | 196,000 hectares | -20.3% |
| 2004 | 227,000 hectares | +15.8% |
| 2005 | 215,000 hectares | -5.3% |
| 2006 | 203,000 hectares | -5.6% |
| 2007 | 184,000 hectares | -9.4% |
| 2008 | 281,000 hectares | +52.7% |
| 2009 | 318,000 hectares | +13.2% |
| 2010 | 261,000 hectares | -17.9% |
| 2011 | 326,000 hectares | +24.9% |
| 2012 | 287,000 hectares | -12.0% |
| 2013 | 282,000 hectares | -1.7% |
| 2014 | 404,000 hectares | +43.3% |
| 2015 | 261,600 hectares | -35.2% |
| 2016 | 261,600 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 261,600 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 261,600 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 262,000 hectares | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 262,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 262,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 262,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 262,000 hectares | +0.0% |
Botswana compared with similar countries
- Botswana's 262,000 hectares is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.58 million hectares, 17% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Botswana's 262,000 hectares is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.21 million hectares, 8% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where FAO projections of arable land in Botswana changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | +52.7% | 184,000 hectares | 281,000 hectares |
| 2000 | +45.6% | 241,000 hectares | 351,000 hectares |
| 2014 | +43.3% | 282,000 hectares | 404,000 hectares |
| 2001 | -42.7% | 351,000 hectares | 201,000 hectares |
| 1993 | +39.8% | 251,000 hectares | 351,000 hectares |
| 2015 | -35.2% | 404,000 hectares | 261,600 hectares |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 400,556 hectares | 400,000 hectares | 401,000 hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 402,000 hectares | 401,000 hectares | 404,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 407,700 hectares | 404,000 hectares | 415,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 318,500 hectares | 231,000 hectares | 421,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 242,200 hectares | 184,000 hectares | 351,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 286,840 hectares | 261,000 hectares | 404,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 262,000 hectares | 262,000 hectares | 262,000 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Botswana
More reference data data for Botswana
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0472 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.42 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0078 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.42 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1582 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.0825 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 6.97 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 7.25 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0424 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is fao projections of arable land in Botswana?
- Fao projections of arable land in Botswana was 262,000 hectares in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest fao projections of arable land recorded in Botswana?
- The highest recorded value was 421,000 hectares in 1990.
- What is the lowest fao projections of arable land recorded in Botswana?
- The lowest recorded value was 184,000 hectares in 2007.
- How does Botswana rank for fao projections of arable land?
- Botswana ranks 143rd out of 224 countries with data for 2023.
- Is fao projections of arable land rising or falling in Botswana?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Botswana data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of FAO projections of arable land. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Land allocated to arable production or permanent crops, measured in hectares. Values from 2030 onwards are FAO's 2018 projections under three different scenarios.