What is land area in North America?

Land area in North America was 17.94 million sq. km in 2023, according to FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

What is the highest land area recorded in North America?

The highest recorded value was 18.13 million sq. km in 2000.

What is the lowest land area recorded in North America?

The lowest recorded value was 17.94 million sq. km in 2021.

Is land area rising or falling in North America?

Over the last ten years it is down 1.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.

Where does this North America data come from?

The figures come from FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), published as part of Land area (sq. km). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Land area in North America

Name: Land area in North America
Creator: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
License: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)

North America: Land area was 17.94 million sq. km in 2023. ▬ Flat

Latest (2023)

17.94 million sq. km

Change on year

unchanged

All-time high

18.13 million sq. km

in 2000

All-time low

17.94 million sq. km

in 2021

Years of data

1961–2023

Land area in North America, 1961–2023

Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in sq. km.

Analysis

The most recent figure for land area in North America is 17.94 million sq. km, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.

The figure is down 1.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, land area in North America peaked at 18.13 million sq. km in 2000 and was at its lowest, 17.94 million sq. km, in 2021.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1960s	18.12 million sq. km	18.12 million sq. km	18.12 million sq. km	9
1970s	18.12 million sq. km	18.12 million sq. km	18.12 million sq. km	10
1980s	18.12 million sq. km	18.12 million sq. km	18.12 million sq. km	10
1990s	18.12 million sq. km	18.12 million sq. km	18.12 million sq. km	10
2000s	18.12 million sq. km	18.11 million sq. km	18.13 million sq. km	10
2010s	18.11 million sq. km	18.11 million sq. km	18.11 million sq. km	10
2020s	17.98 million sq. km	17.94 million sq. km	18.11 million sq. km	4

More agriculture & rural data for North America

Agricultural raw materials exports 1.9% (2024)
Agricultural raw materials imports 0.8% (2024)
Rural population 19.5% (2025)
Rural population growth 0.2% (2025)
Rural population 74.83 million (2025)
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 1.0% (2021)
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 256.06 billion current US$ (2021)
Land under cereal production 54.08 million hectares (2024)
Cereal yield 8,414 kg per hectare (2024)
Cereal production 454.99 million metric tons (2024)

All data for North America →

Frequently asked questions

What is land area in North America?: Land area in North America was 17.94 million sq. km in 2023, according to FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
What is the highest land area recorded in North America?: The highest recorded value was 18.13 million sq. km in 2000.
What is the lowest land area recorded in North America?: The lowest recorded value was 17.94 million sq. km in 2021.
Is land area rising or falling in North America?: Over the last ten years it is down 1.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this North America data come from?: The figures come from FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), published as part of Land area (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: Land area (sq. km)
Unit: sq. km
Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 263 places, 15,310 data points, 1961–2023
Last refreshed: 06 August 2026

Land area is a country's total area, excluding area under inland water bodies, national claims to continental shelf, and exclusive economic zones. In most cases the definition of inland water bodies includes major rivers and lakes.