Arable land in Spain

Spain: Arable land was 11.50 million hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
11.50 million hectares
Change on year
down 1.7%
World rank
26th
of 206 countries
All-time high
16.34 million hectares
in 1971
All-time low
11.50 million hectares
in 2023
Years of data
63
1961–2023

Arable land in Spain, 1961–2023

05.0M10.0M15.0M196119922023

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

In 2023, arable land in Spain stood at 11.50 million hectares. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.

That represents a change of down 1.7% on the previous year and down 5.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, arable land in Spain peaked at 16.34 million hectares in 1971 and was at its lowest, 11.50 million hectares, in 2023.

That places Spain 26th out of 206 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 15.96 million hectares 15.51 million hectares 16.30 million hectares 9
1970s 15.86 million hectares 15.58 million hectares 16.34 million hectares 10
1980s 15.57 million hectares 15.51 million hectares 15.65 million hectares 10
1990s 14.55 million hectares 13.46 million hectares 15.34 million hectares 10
2000s 12.86 million hectares 12.49 million hectares 13.40 million hectares 10
2010s 12.26 million hectares 11.81 million hectares 12.57 million hectares 10
2020s 11.59 million hectares 11.50 million hectares 11.69 million hectares 4

Countries ranked near Spain

  1. 23 Tanzania 13.50 million hectares compare
  2. 24 South Africa 12.00 million hectares compare
  3. 25 Germany 11.68 million hectares compare
  4. 27 Poland 11.20 million hectares compare
  5. 28 Myanmar 11.01 million hectares compare
  6. 29 Romania 8.41 million hectares compare

See the full ranking of 206 places →

More agriculture & rural data for Spain

All data for Spain →

Frequently asked questions

What is arable land in Spain?
Arable land in Spain was 11.50 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 Spain?
The highest recorded value was 16.34 million hectares in 1971.
What is the lowest arable land recorded in Spain?
The lowest recorded value was 11.50 million hectares in 2023.
How does Spain rank for arable land?
Spain ranks 26th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
Is arable land rising or falling in Spain?
Over the last ten years it is down 5.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Spain 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

Indicator
Arable land (hectares)
Unit
hectares
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
206 places, 11,871 data points, 1961–2023
Last refreshed

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.