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Land area — all countries

Land area — Sub-Saharan Africa

Land area in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2023 — 23,902,664 km². Since 1961, the indicator has risen by 18.7%.

2023 23.9M km² +0% vs 2022
World rank —
Period maximum 23.9M km²2021
Period minimum 20.14M km²1975

Trend over time

1961–2023 · km²

Land area — Sub-Saharan Africa, 1961–202320M21M22M23M24M19611968197519821989199620032010201720231961: 20,141,191 km²1963: 20,141,191 km²1965: 20,141,191 km²1967: 20,141,191 km²1969: 20,141,191 km²1971: 20,141,191 km²1973: 20,141,191 km²1975: 20,140,391 km²1977: 20,140,391 km²1979: 20,140,391 km²1981: 20,140,391 km²1983: 20,140,391 km²1985: 20,140,391 km²1987: 20,140,391 km²1989: 20,140,391 km²1991: 20,140,391 km²1993: 21,241,391 km²1995: 21,241,391 km²1997: 21,241,391 km²1999: 21,241,391 km²2001: 21,241,391 km²2003: 21,241,391 km²2005: 21,390,016 km²2007: 21,390,055 km²2009: 21,390,049 km²2011: 21,390,987 km²2013: 23,890,879 km²2015: 23,892,842 km²2017: 23,896,750 km²2019: 23,900,683 km²2021: 23,902,671 km²2023: 23,902,664 km²
Change over the period: +3.76M (+18.68%) Average annual rate: 0.28 %

Comparison, 2023

How the value compares with the world and the groups this territory belongs to: Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa 23.9M km²
World 130M km²
Land area — Sub-Saharan Africa, by year Sub-Saharan Africa All countries CSV XLSX
Year km² Change Change, %
2023 23.9M +0 +0%
2022 23.9M −7 −0%
2021 23.9M +75 +0%
2020 23.9M +1,914 +0.01%
2019 23.9M +1,961 +0.01%
2018 23.9M +1,971 +0.01%
2017 23.9M +1,944 +0.01%
2016 23.89M +1,964 +0.01%
2015 23.89M +2,010 +0.01%
2014 23.89M −47 −0%
2013 23.89M −38 −0%
2012 23.89M +2.5M +11.69%
2011 21.39M +250 +0%
2010 21.39M +688 +0%
2009 21.39M +32 +0%
2008 21.39M −38 −0%
2007 21.39M +47 +0%
2006 21.39M −8 −0%
2005 21.39M +45 +0%
2004 21.39M +148,580 +0.7%
2003 21.24M +0 +0%
2002 21.24M +0 +0%
2001 21.24M +0 +0%
2000 21.24M +0 +0%
1999 21.24M +0 +0%
1998 21.24M +0 +0%
1997 21.24M +0 +0%
1996 21.24M +0 +0%
1995 21.24M +0 +0%
1994 21.24M +0 +0%
1993 21.24M +1.1M +5.47%
1992 20.14M +0 +0%
1991 20.14M +0 +0%
1990 20.14M +0 +0%
1989 20.14M +0 +0%
1988 20.14M +0 +0%
1987 20.14M +0 +0%
1986 20.14M +0 +0%
1985 20.14M +0 +0%
1984 20.14M +0 +0%
1983 20.14M +0 +0%
1982 20.14M +0 +0%
1981 20.14M +0 +0%
1980 20.14M +0 +0%
1979 20.14M +0 +0%
1978 20.14M +0 +0%
1977 20.14M +0 +0%
1976 20.14M +0 +0%
1975 20.14M −400 −0%
1974 20.14M −400 −0%
1973 20.14M +0 +0%
1972 20.14M +0 +0%
1971 20.14M +0 +0%
1970 20.14M +0 +0%
1969 20.14M +0 +0%
1968 20.14M +0 +0%
1967 20.14M +0 +0%
1966 20.14M +0 +0%
1965 20.14M +0 +0%
1964 20.14M +0 +0%
1963 20.14M +0 +0%
1962 20.14M +0 +0%
1961 20.14M — —

About the indicator

Land area: the entire territory of a country excluding inland water bodies, major rivers and coastal waters. This is the figure the World Bank uses to calculate the shares of forest, agricultural and arable land, so it is needed not only in itself but also as a denominator. It differs from surface area by the area of inland waters — for most countries the gap stays within a percent, but for Canada, Finland or Kazakhstan it is noticeable.

Important: Not to be confused with surface area, which includes inland waters. The indicator changes only when borders change, so the series is nearly constant.

Source: FAOSTAT (FAO), license CC BY 4.0.

Other indicators for Sub-Saharan Africa

Environment Surface area

The full area of a country — land together with inland water bodies.

Sub-Saharan Africa by year Environment Forest cover

What share of a country's territory is covered by forest.

Sub-Saharan Africa by year Agriculture Agricultural land

How much land is taken up by arable land, permanent crops and pasture.

Sub-Saharan Africa by year Demography Population density

How many people there are per square kilometer of a country's territory.

Sub-Saharan Africa by year
All indicators for Sub-Saharan Africa