Arable land in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Arable land was 3.43 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Arable land in Saudi Arabia, 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.
Analysis
The most recent figure for arable land in Saudi Arabia is 3.43 million hectares, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of down 1.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land in Saudi Arabia peaked at 3.67 million hectares in 1993 and was at its lowest, 1.14 million hectares, in 1961.
Saudi Arabia ranks 65th of 206 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.22 million hectares | 1.14 million hectares | 1.32 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.59 million hectares | 1.36 million hectares | 1.84 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.48 million hectares | 1.89 million hectares | 3.20 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.61 million hectares | 3.39 million hectares | 3.67 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.57 million hectares | 3.52 million hectares | 3.61 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.47 million hectares | 3.43 million hectares | 3.51 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.43 million hectares | 3.43 million hectares | 3.43 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More agriculture & rural data for Saudi Arabia
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.3% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.6% (2024)
- Rural population 15.4% (2025)
- Rural population growth 3.6% (2025)
- Rural population 5.69 million (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 2.6% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 33.07 billion current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 232,932 hectares (2023)
- Cereal yield 5,122 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal production 1.19 million metric tons (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is arable land in Saudi Arabia?
- Arable land in Saudi Arabia was 3.43 million hectares 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 Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 3.67 million hectares in 1993.
- What is the lowest arable land recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.14 million hectares in 1961.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for arable land?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 65th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is arable land rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia 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). 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 (in hectares) 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.