What is the highest agricultural land recorded in Iceland?

The highest recorded value was 21,200 sq. km in 1961.

What is the lowest agricultural land recorded in Iceland?

The lowest recorded value was 16,380 sq. km in 2023.

How does Iceland rank for agricultural land?

Iceland ranks 127th out of 210 countries with data for 2023.

Is agricultural land rising or falling in Iceland?

Over the last ten years it is down 12.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.

Agricultural land in Iceland

Name: Agricultural land in Iceland
Creator: FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
License: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)

Iceland: Agricultural land was 16,380 sq. km in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)

16,380 sq. km

Change on year

down 12.5%

World rank

127th

of 210 countries

All-time high

21,200 sq. km

in 1961

All-time low

16,380 sq. km

in 2023

Years of data

1961–2023

Agricultural land in Iceland, 1961–2023

Source: FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in sq. km.

Analysis

In 2023, agricultural land in Iceland stood at 16,380 sq. km. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.

That represents a change of down 12.5% on the previous year and down 12.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, agricultural land in Iceland peaked at 21,200 sq. km in 1961 and was at its lowest, 16,380 sq. km, in 2023.

Iceland ranks 127th of 210 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

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

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1960s	21,200 sq. km	21,200 sq. km	21,200 sq. km	9
1970s	19,557 sq. km	19,110 sq. km	20,010 sq. km	10
1980s	19,000 sq. km	19,000 sq. km	19,000 sq. km	10
1990s	18,974 sq. km	18,890 sq. km	19,010 sq. km	10
2000s	18,824 sq. km	18,750 sq. km	18,890 sq. km	10
2010s	18,724 sq. km	18,720 sq. km	18,740 sq. km	10
2020s	18,135 sq. km	16,380 sq. km	18,720 sq. km	4

Countries ranked near Iceland

124 Djibouti 17,039 sq. km compare
125 Costa Rica 16,923 sq. km compare
126 Armenia 16,523 sq. km compare
128 South Korea 15,680 sq. km compare
129 Switzerland 14,932 sq. km compare
130 Croatia 14,860 sq. km compare

See the full ranking of 257 places →

More agriculture & rural data for Iceland

Agricultural raw materials exports 0.5% (2025)
Agricultural raw materials imports 1.0% (2025)
Rural population 5.8% (2025)
Rural population growth 0.9% (2025)
Rural population 22,689 (2025)
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 3.7% (2025)
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 1.41 billion current US$ (2025)
Land under cereal production 3,160 hectares (2023)
Cereal yield 2,430 kg per hectare (2023)
Cereal production 7,679 metric tons (2023)

All data for Iceland →

Frequently asked questions

What is agricultural land in Iceland?: Agricultural land in Iceland was 16,380 sq. km in 2023, according to FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
What is the highest agricultural land recorded in Iceland?: The highest recorded value was 21,200 sq. km in 1961.
What is the lowest agricultural land recorded in Iceland?: The lowest recorded value was 16,380 sq. km in 2023.
How does Iceland rank for agricultural land?: Iceland ranks 127th out of 210 countries with data for 2023.
Is agricultural land rising or falling in Iceland?: Over the last ten years it is down 12.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Iceland data come from?: The figures come from FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), published as part of Agricultural land (sq. km). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

About this data

Indicator: Agricultural land (sq. km)
Unit: sq. km
Source: FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 257 places, 15,984 data points, 1961–2023
Last refreshed: 06 August 2026

Agricultural land refers to the land area that is arable, under permanent crops, and under permanent pastures. Arable land includes land defined by the FAO as land under temporary crops (double-cropped areas are counted once), temporary meadows for mowing or for pasture, land under market or kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow. Land abandoned as a result of shifting cultivation is excluded. Land under permanent crops is land cultivated with crops that occupy the land for long periods and need not be replanted after each harvest, such as cocoa, coffee, and rubber. This category includes land under flowering shrubs, fruit trees, nut trees, and vines, but excludes land under trees grown for wood or timber. Permanent pasture is land used for five or more years for forage, including natural and cultivated crops.