FAO projections of arable land in Zambia
Zambia: FAO projections of arable land was 3.84 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
3.84 million hectares
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
68th
of 224 countries
All-time high
3.84 million hectares
in 2017
All-time low
2.32 million hectares
in 1979
Years of data
63
1961–2023
FAO projections of arable land in Zambia, 1961–2023
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 Zambia stood at 3.84 million hectares. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, fao projections of arable land in Zambia peaked at 3.84 million hectares in 2017 and was at its lowest, 2.32 million hectares, in 1979.
Zambia ranks 68th of 224 countries on this measure, 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 Zambia, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 2.56 million hectares | — |
| 1962 | 2.56 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1963 | 2.58 million hectares | +0.9% |
| 1964 | 2.61 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 1965 | 2.61 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1966 | 2.67 million hectares | +2.1% |
| 1967 | 2.68 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1968 | 2.71 million hectares | +1.3% |
| 1969 | 2.74 million hectares | +1.1% |
| 1970 | 2.77 million hectares | +1.1% |
| 1971 | 2.90 million hectares | +4.7% |
| 1972 | 2.91 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1973 | 2.92 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1974 | 2.95 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 1975 | 2.94 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 1976 | 2.92 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 1977 | 2.89 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 1978 | 2.73 million hectares | -5.5% |
| 1979 | 2.32 million hectares | -15.2% |
| 1980 | 2.35 million hectares | +1.1% |
| 1981 | 2.40 million hectares | +2.4% |
| 1982 | 2.46 million hectares | +2.3% |
| 1983 | 2.52 million hectares | +2.3% |
| 1984 | 2.57 million hectares | +2.2% |
| 1985 | 2.63 million hectares | +2.2% |
| 1986 | 2.68 million hectares | +2.1% |
| 1987 | 2.74 million hectares | +2.1% |
| 1988 | 2.80 million hectares | +2.0% |
| 1989 | 2.91 million hectares | +4.0% |
| 1990 | 2.91 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 2.78 million hectares | -4.6% |
| 1992 | 2.80 million hectares | +0.9% |
| 1993 | 2.80 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1994 | 2.87 million hectares | +2.5% |
| 1995 | 2.87 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1996 | 2.87 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 2.87 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1998 | 2.87 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1999 | 2.87 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 2.88 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2001 | 2.75 million hectares | -4.2% |
| 2002 | 2.62 million hectares | -5.0% |
| 2003 | 2.91 million hectares | +11.2% |
| 2004 | 2.90 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 2005 | 2.76 million hectares | -4.7% |
| 2006 | 3.05 million hectares | +10.4% |
| 2007 | 2.98 million hectares | -2.1% |
| 2008 | 3.09 million hectares | +3.5% |
| 2009 | 3.59 million hectares | +16.2% |
| 2010 | 3.44 million hectares | -4.2% |
| 2011 | 3.64 million hectares | +5.8% |
| 2012 | 3.84 million hectares | +5.5% |
| 2013 | 3.74 million hectares | -2.6% |
| 2014 | 3.74 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 3.74 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 3.74 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 3.84 million hectares | +2.7% |
| 2018 | 3.84 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 3.84 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 3.84 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 3.84 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 3.84 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 3.84 million hectares | +0.0% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 3.84 million hectares is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 2.82 million hectares, 1.4× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 3.84 million hectares is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.21 million hectares, 1.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.64 million hectares | 2.56 million hectares | 2.74 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.83 million hectares | 2.32 million hectares | 2.95 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.61 million hectares | 2.35 million hectares | 2.91 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.85 million hectares | 2.78 million hectares | 2.91 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.95 million hectares | 2.62 million hectares | 3.59 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.74 million hectares | 3.44 million hectares | 3.84 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.84 million hectares | 3.84 million hectares | 3.84 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More reference data data for Zambia
- Spring temperature anomalies -0.0386 °C (2026)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.0941 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies -0.018 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 0.3261 °C (2026)
- Exchange rate, new LCU per USD extended backward, period average 18.94 (2026)
- Exchange rate, old LCU per USD extended forward, period average 18.94 (2026)
- Official exchange rate, LCU per USD, period average 18.94 (2026)
- Urban area long term, annual growth rate 3.69 % change on previous year (2025)
- Urban area long term, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Urban area long term, per capita 0.0001 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is fao projections of arable land in Zambia?
- Fao projections of arable land in Zambia was 3.84 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 Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 3.84 million hectares in 2017.
- What is the lowest fao projections of arable land recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.32 million hectares in 1979.
- How does Zambia rank for fao projections of arable land?
- Zambia ranks 68th out of 224 countries with data for 2023.
- Is fao projections of arable land rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia 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.