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FAO projections of arable land in Democratic Republic of Congo

Democratic Republic of Congo: FAO projections of arable land was 16.90 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
16.90 million hectares
Change on year
up 2.4%
World rank
23rd
of 224 countries
All-time high
16.90 million hectares
in 2023
All-time low
6.95 million hectares
in 1961
Years of data
63
1961–2023

FAO projections of arable land in Democratic Republic of Congo, 1961–2023

05.0M10.0M15.0M196119922023

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.

Analysis

In 2023, fao projections of arable land in Democratic Republic of Congo stood at 16.90 million hectares. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.

That represents a change of up 2.4% on the previous year and up 27.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, fao projections of arable land in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 16.90 million hectares in 2023 and was at its lowest, 6.95 million hectares, in 1961.

That places Democratic Republic of Congo 23rd out of 224 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.

FAO projections of arable land in Democratic Republic of Congo, year by year

Year hectares Change
1961 6.95 million hectares —
1962 6.97 million hectares +0.3%
1963 7.00 million hectares +0.4%
1964 7.03 million hectares +0.4%
1965 7.05 million hectares +0.3%
1966 7.07 million hectares +0.3%
1967 7.10 million hectares +0.4%
1968 7.15 million hectares +0.7%
1969 7.20 million hectares +0.7%
1970 7.25 million hectares +0.7%
1971 7.30 million hectares +0.7%
1972 7.35 million hectares +0.7%
1973 7.40 million hectares +0.7%
1974 7.45 million hectares +0.7%
1975 7.45 million hectares +0.0%
1976 7.50 million hectares +0.7%
1977 7.53 million hectares +0.4%
1978 7.55 million hectares +0.3%
1979 7.55 million hectares +0.0%
1980 7.60 million hectares +0.7%
1981 7.65 million hectares +0.7%
1982 7.67 million hectares +0.3%
1983 7.70 million hectares +0.4%
1984 7.75 million hectares +0.6%
1985 7.80 million hectares +0.6%
1986 7.85 million hectares +0.6%
1987 7.85 million hectares +0.0%
1988 7.85 million hectares +0.0%
1989 7.85 million hectares +0.0%
1990 7.86 million hectares +0.1%
1991 7.88 million hectares +0.3%
1992 7.90 million hectares +0.3%
1993 7.90 million hectares +0.0%
1994 7.90 million hectares +0.0%
1995 7.70 million hectares -2.5%
1996 7.70 million hectares +0.0%
1997 7.60 million hectares -1.3%
1998 7.60 million hectares +0.0%
1999 7.50 million hectares -1.3%
2000 7.50 million hectares +0.0%
2001 7.45 million hectares -0.7%
2002 7.45 million hectares +0.0%
2003 7.45 million hectares +0.0%
2004 7.45 million hectares +0.0%
2005 7.45 million hectares +0.0%
2006 7.45 million hectares +0.0%
2007 7.45 million hectares +0.0%
2008 7.50 million hectares +0.7%
2009 8.69 million hectares +15.8%
2010 10.23 million hectares +17.8%
2011 11.44 million hectares +11.8%
2012 12.69 million hectares +10.9%
2013 13.23 million hectares +4.3%
2014 14.05 million hectares +6.2%
2015 14.25 million hectares +1.4%
2016 14.47 million hectares +1.6%
2017 15.09 million hectares +4.3%
2018 15.41 million hectares +2.2%
2019 15.64 million hectares +1.4%
2020 15.68 million hectares +0.3%
2021 15.68 million hectares +0.0%
2022 16.49 million hectares +5.2%
2023 16.90 million hectares +2.4%

Democratic Republic of Congo compared with similar countries

  • Democratic Republic of Congo's 16.90 million hectares is above the median for low income countries, which is 3.60 million hectares, 4.7× the median. (25 countries reporting)
  • Democratic Republic of Congo's 16.90 million hectares is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.21 million hectares, 5.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 7.06 million hectares 6.95 million hectares 7.20 million hectares 9
1970s 7.43 million hectares 7.25 million hectares 7.55 million hectares 10
1980s 7.76 million hectares 7.60 million hectares 7.85 million hectares 10
1990s 7.75 million hectares 7.50 million hectares 7.90 million hectares 10
2000s 7.58 million hectares 7.45 million hectares 8.69 million hectares 10
2010s 13.65 million hectares 10.23 million hectares 15.64 million hectares 10
2020s 16.19 million hectares 15.68 million hectares 16.90 million hectares 4

Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo

  1. 20 France 17.93 million hectares compare
  2. 21 Niger 17.82 million hectares compare
  3. 22 Iran 17.59 million hectares compare
  4. 24 Spain 16.61 million hectares compare
  5. 25 Tanzania 15.52 million hectares compare
  6. 26 Cote d'Ivoire 14.30 million hectares compare

See the full ranking of 225 places →

More reference data data for Democratic Republic of Congo

All data for Democratic Republic of Congo →

Frequently asked questions

What is fao projections of arable land in Democratic Republic of Congo?
Fao projections of arable land in Democratic Republic of Congo was 16.90 million 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 Democratic Republic of Congo?
The highest recorded value was 16.90 million hectares in 2023.
What is the lowest fao projections of arable land recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
The lowest recorded value was 6.95 million hectares in 1961.
How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for fao projections of arable land?
Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 23rd out of 224 countries with data for 2023.
Is fao projections of arable land rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
Over the last ten years it is up 27.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo 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.

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FAO projections of arable land in Democratic Republic of Congo. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 28 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/fao-projections-of-arable-land-to-2050/congo-dem-rep/

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About this data

Indicator
FAO projections of arable land
Unit
hectares
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
225 places, 13,015 data points, 1961–2023
Last refreshed

Land allocated to arable production or permanent crops, measured in hectares. Values from 2030 onwards are FAO's 2018 projections under three different scenarios.