Arable land in World
World: Arable land was 0.1717 hectares per person in 2023. ▼ Falling
Arable land in World, 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 hectares per person.
Analysis
In 2023, arable land in World stood at 0.1717 hectares per person. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
The figure is down 1.1% on the previous year and down 9.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land in World peaked at 0.3589 hectares per person in 1961 and was at its lowest, 0.1717 hectares per person, in 2023.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.3351 hectares per person | 0.3137 hectares per person | 0.3589 hectares per person | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.2826 hectares per person | 0.2648 hectares per person | 0.3065 hectares per person | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.2468 hectares per person | 0.2306 hectares per person | 0.2606 hectares per person | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.2327 hectares per person | 0.2227 hectares per person | 0.2487 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.2066 hectares per person | 0.1955 hectares per person | 0.2189 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.1866 hectares per person | 0.1779 hectares per person | 0.1933 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.1741 hectares per person | 0.1717 hectares per person | 0.1763 hectares per person | 4 |
More agriculture & rural data for World
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.2% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.2% (2024)
- Rural population 42.2% (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.3% (2025)
- Rural population 3.46 billion (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 4.0% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 4.75 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 415.70 million hectares (2024)
- Cereal yield 3,955 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal production 1.64 billion metric tons (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is arable land in World?
- Arable land in World was 0.1717 hectares per person 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 arable land recorded in World?
- The highest recorded value was 0.3589 hectares per person in 1961.
- What is the lowest arable land recorded in World?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1717 hectares per person in 2023.
- Is arable land rising or falling in World?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this World 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 Arable land (hectares per person). 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
Arable land (hectares per person) 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.