FAO projections of arable land in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: FAO projections of arable land was 2.57 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
2.57 million hectares
Change on year
up 8.2%
World rank
80th
of 224 countries
All-time high
2.57 million hectares
in 2023
All-time low
1.52 million hectares
in 1962
Years of data
63
1961–2023
FAO projections of arable land in Sri Lanka, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
The most recent figure for fao projections of arable land in Sri Lanka is 2.57 million hectares, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
The figure is up 8.2% on the previous year and up 11.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, fao projections of arable land in Sri Lanka peaked at 2.57 million hectares in 2023 and was at its lowest, 1.52 million hectares, in 1962.
That places Sri Lanka 80th out of 224 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
FAO projections of arable land in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1.54 million hectares | — |
| 1962 | 1.52 million hectares | -1.0% |
| 1963 | 1.88 million hectares | +23.2% |
| 1964 | 1.87 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1965 | 1.88 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1966 | 1.88 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1967 | 1.88 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 1.88 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1969 | 1.89 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1970 | 1.89 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1971 | 1.90 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1972 | 1.91 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1973 | 1.91 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1974 | 1.92 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1975 | 1.92 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1976 | 1.96 million hectares | +1.9% |
| 1977 | 1.99 million hectares | +1.9% |
| 1978 | 2.03 million hectares | +1.8% |
| 1979 | 1.92 million hectares | -5.4% |
| 1980 | 1.91 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 1981 | 1.91 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 1.86 million hectares | -2.8% |
| 1983 | 1.87 million hectares | +0.6% |
| 1984 | 1.87 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1985 | 1.88 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1986 | 1.89 million hectares | +0.6% |
| 1987 | 1.90 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1988 | 1.90 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1989 | 1.90 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1990 | 1.90 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1991 | 1.90 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1992 | 1.91 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1993 | 1.88 million hectares | -1.3% |
| 1994 | 1.88 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1995 | 1.89 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1996 | 1.89 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1997 | 1.89 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1998 | 1.89 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1999 | 1.91 million hectares | +0.8% |
| 2000 | 1.91 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 1.91 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 1.92 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 1.95 million hectares | +1.6% |
| 2004 | 1.85 million hectares | -5.0% |
| 2005 | 2.05 million hectares | +11.0% |
| 2006 | 1.99 million hectares | -3.0% |
| 2007 | 1.94 million hectares | -2.4% |
| 2008 | 2.16 million hectares | +11.1% |
| 2009 | 2.17 million hectares | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 2.18 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 2011 | 2.29 million hectares | +5.0% |
| 2012 | 2.30 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 2.30 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 2.30 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 2.30 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 2.31 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 2.32 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 2.37 million hectares | +2.2% |
| 2019 | 2.37 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2020 | 2.37 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 2.37 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 2.37 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 2.57 million hectares | +8.2% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 2.57 million hectares is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.58 million hectares, 1.6× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 2.57 million hectares is above the median for South Asia, which is 2.26 million hectares, 1.1× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.80 million hectares | 1.52 million hectares | 1.89 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.94 million hectares | 1.89 million hectares | 2.03 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.89 million hectares | 1.86 million hectares | 1.91 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.89 million hectares | 1.88 million hectares | 1.91 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.98 million hectares | 1.85 million hectares | 2.17 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.30 million hectares | 2.18 million hectares | 2.37 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.42 million hectares | 2.37 million hectares | 2.57 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
- 77 Guatemala 2.74 million hectares compare
- 78 Central African Republic 2.68 million hectares compare
- 79 South Sudan 2.57 million hectares compare
- 81 Czechia 2.57 million hectares compare
- 82 North Korea 2.55 million hectares compare
- 83 Sweden 2.53 million hectares compare
More reference data data for Sri Lanka
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1608 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.316 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.33 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1784 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 2.33 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.539 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.1604 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 10.15 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.9713 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is fao projections of arable land in Sri Lanka?
- Fao projections of arable land in Sri Lanka was 2.57 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 Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 2.57 million hectares in 2023.
- What is the lowest fao projections of arable land recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.52 million hectares in 1962.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for fao projections of arable land?
- Sri Lanka ranks 80th out of 224 countries with data for 2023.
- Is fao projections of arable land rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sri Lanka 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.