FAO projections of arable land in Lesotho
Lesotho: FAO projections of arable land was 360,748 hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
360,748 hectares
Change on year
up 31.0%
World rank
140th
of 224 countries
All-time high
433,300 hectares
in 2018
All-time low
154,400 hectares
in 2019
Years of data
63
1961–2023
FAO projections of arable land in Lesotho, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 360,748 hectares for fao projections of arable land in 2023.
The figure is up 31.0% on the previous year and up 43.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, fao projections of arable land in Lesotho peaked at 433,300 hectares in 2018 and was at its lowest, 154,400 hectares, in 2019.
That places Lesotho 140th 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 Lesotho, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 361,000 hectares | — |
| 1962 | 356,000 hectares | -1.4% |
| 1963 | 356,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 358,000 hectares | +0.6% |
| 1965 | 358,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 363,000 hectares | +1.4% |
| 1967 | 363,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 368,000 hectares | +1.4% |
| 1969 | 368,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 372,000 hectares | +1.1% |
| 1971 | 364,000 hectares | -2.2% |
| 1972 | 359,000 hectares | -1.4% |
| 1973 | 359,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 359,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 376,000 hectares | +4.7% |
| 1976 | 359,000 hectares | -4.5% |
| 1977 | 292,000 hectares | -18.7% |
| 1978 | 293,000 hectares | +0.3% |
| 1979 | 309,000 hectares | +5.5% |
| 1980 | 296,000 hectares | -4.2% |
| 1981 | 302,000 hectares | +2.0% |
| 1982 | 292,000 hectares | -3.3% |
| 1983 | 287,000 hectares | -1.7% |
| 1984 | 301,000 hectares | +4.9% |
| 1985 | 308,000 hectares | +2.3% |
| 1986 | 291,000 hectares | -5.5% |
| 1987 | 330,000 hectares | +13.4% |
| 1988 | 343,000 hectares | +3.9% |
| 1989 | 305,000 hectares | -11.1% |
| 1990 | 321,000 hectares | +5.2% |
| 1991 | 323,000 hectares | +0.6% |
| 1992 | 336,000 hectares | +4.0% |
| 1993 | 334,000 hectares | -0.6% |
| 1994 | 329,000 hectares | -1.5% |
| 1995 | 324,000 hectares | -1.5% |
| 1996 | 326,000 hectares | +0.6% |
| 1997 | 329,000 hectares | +0.9% |
| 1998 | 329,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 329,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 334,000 hectares | +1.5% |
| 2001 | 334,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 304,000 hectares | -9.0% |
| 2003 | 304,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 314,000 hectares | +3.3% |
| 2005 | 327,000 hectares | +4.1% |
| 2006 | 307,000 hectares | -6.1% |
| 2007 | 329,000 hectares | +7.2% |
| 2008 | 362,000 hectares | +10.0% |
| 2009 | 339,000 hectares | -6.4% |
| 2010 | 326,000 hectares | -3.8% |
| 2011 | 312,000 hectares | -4.3% |
| 2012 | 285,300 hectares | -8.6% |
| 2013 | 252,100 hectares | -11.6% |
| 2014 | 276,300 hectares | +9.6% |
| 2015 | 223,000 hectares | -19.3% |
| 2016 | 356,000 hectares | +59.6% |
| 2017 | 418,000 hectares | +17.4% |
| 2018 | 433,300 hectares | +3.7% |
| 2019 | 154,400 hectares | -64.4% |
| 2020 | 349,400 hectares | +126.3% |
| 2021 | 229,400 hectares | -34.3% |
| 2022 | 275,400 hectares | +20.1% |
| 2023 | 360,748 hectares | +31.0% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 360,748 hectares is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 2.82 million hectares, 13% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 360,748 hectares is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.21 million hectares, 11% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where FAO projections of arable land in Lesotho 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +126.3% | 154,400 hectares | 349,400 hectares |
| 2019 | -64.4% | 433,300 hectares | 154,400 hectares |
| 2016 | +59.6% | 223,000 hectares | 356,000 hectares |
| 2021 | -34.3% | 349,400 hectares | 229,400 hectares |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 361,222 hectares | 356,000 hectares | 368,000 hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 344,200 hectares | 292,000 hectares | 376,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 305,500 hectares | 287,000 hectares | 343,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 328,000 hectares | 321,000 hectares | 336,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 325,400 hectares | 304,000 hectares | 362,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 303,640 hectares | 154,400 hectares | 433,300 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 303,737 hectares | 229,400 hectares | 360,748 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
More reference data data for Lesotho
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0331 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.5388 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.582 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0101 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.582 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.111 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.1115 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 2.48 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.77 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0549 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is fao projections of arable land in Lesotho?
- Fao projections of arable land in Lesotho was 360,748 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 Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 433,300 hectares in 2018.
- What is the lowest fao projections of arable land recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 154,400 hectares in 2019.
- How does Lesotho rank for fao projections of arable land?
- Lesotho ranks 140th out of 224 countries with data for 2023.
- Is fao projections of arable land rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 43.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Lesotho 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.