Arable land in World
World: Arable land was 10.7% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Arable land in World, 1961–2023
Source: FAO electronic files and website, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in % of land area.
Analysis
In 2023, arable land in World stood at 10.7%.
The figure is down 0.1% on the previous year and up 0.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land in World peaked at 10.7% in 2017 and was at its lowest, 9.6%, in 1961.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 9.7% | 9.6% | 9.9% | 9 |
| 1970s | 10.0% | 9.9% | 10.2% | 10 |
| 1980s | 10.5% | 10.2% | 10.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 10.6% | 10.6% | 10.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 10.5% | 10.5% | 10.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 10.7% | 10.6% | 10.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.7% | 10.7% | 10.7% | 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 10.7% in 2023, according to FAO electronic files and website, 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 10.7% in 2017.
- What is the lowest arable land recorded in World?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.6% in 1961.
- Is arable land rising or falling in World?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this World data come from?
- The figures come from FAO electronic files and website, 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 (% of land area). 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 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.