Arable land — all countries

Arable land — Low-income countries

Arable land in low-income countries in 2023 — 141,924,266 ha. Since 1961, the indicator has risen by 140.6%.

2023 142M ha +0.34% vs 2022
World rank
Period maximum 142M ha2023
Period minimum 58.98M ha1961

Trend over time

1961–2023 · hectares

Arable land — Low-income countries, 1961–202350M75M100M125M150M19611968197519821989199620032010201720231961: 58,981,000 ha1963: 59,677,000 ha1965: 60,633,000 ha1967: 60,399,000 ha1969: 61,549,000 ha1971: 61,012,000 ha1973: 60,898,000 ha1975: 60,099,000 ha1977: 60,653,000 ha1979: 61,409,000 ha1981: 61,566,000 ha1983: 62,282,000 ha1985: 62,969,661 ha1987: 63,361,322 ha1989: 63,813,983 ha1991: 67,179,644 ha1993: 80,000,305 ha1995: 81,507,966 ha1997: 83,642,627 ha1999: 84,335,288 ha2001: 85,678,469 ha2003: 90,245,280 ha2005: 93,659,291 ha2007: 96,674,652 ha2009: 99,818,292 ha2011: 105,569,083 ha2013: 132,776,949 ha2015: 134,775,105 ha2017: 138,082,965 ha2019: 139,620,703 ha2021: 140,711,613 ha2023: 141,924,266 ha
Change over the period: +82.94M (+140.63%) Average annual rate: 1.43 %

Comparison, 2023

How the value compares with the world and the groups this territory belongs to: Low-income countries

Low-income countries 142M ha
World computed 1.38B ha
Arable land — Low-income countries, by year Low-income countries All countries CSV XLSX
Year ha Change Change, %
2023 142M +483,340 +0.34%
2022 141M +729,313 +0.52%
2021 141M +615,957 +0.44%
2020 140M +474,953 +0.34%
2019 140M +381,010 +0.27%
2018 139M +1.16M +0.84%
2017 138M +1.59M +1.16%
2016 136M +1.72M +1.28%
2015 135M +855,463 +0.64%
2014 134M +1.14M +0.86%
2013 133M +2.24M +1.72%
2012 131M +24.97M +23.65%
2011 106M +2.65M +2.58%
2010 103M +3.1M +3.1%
2009 99.82M +2.43M +2.49%
2008 97.39M +717,341 +0.74%
2007 96.67M +1.77M +1.87%
2006 94.9M +1.24M +1.33%
2005 93.66M +2.1M +2.3%
2004 91.56M +1.31M +1.45%
2003 90.25M +3.25M +3.74%
2002 86.99M +1.31M +1.53%
2001 85.68M +915,351 +1.08%
2000 84.76M +427,830 +0.51%
1999 84.34M +182,831 +0.22%
1998 84.15M +509,831 +0.61%
1997 83.64M +768,831 +0.93%
1996 82.87M +1.37M +1.68%
1995 81.51M +1.57M +1.97%
1994 79.94M −65,170 −0.08%
1993 80M +11.84M +17.37%
1992 68.16M +979,831 +1.46%
1991 67.18M +1.42M +2.15%
1990 65.76M +1.95M +3.06%
1989 63.81M +341,831 +0.54%
1988 63.47M +110,831 +0.17%
1987 63.36M −47,170 −0.07%
1986 63.41M +438,830 +0.7%
1985 62.97M +316,831 +0.51%
1984 62.65M +370,831 +0.6%
1983 62.28M +323,000 +0.52%
1982 61.96M +393,000 +0.64%
1981 61.57M −103,000 −0.17%
1980 61.67M +260,000 +0.42%
1979 61.41M +321,000 +0.53%
1978 61.09M +435,000 +0.72%
1977 60.65M −1,000 −0%
1976 60.65M +555,000 +0.92%
1975 60.1M −175,000 −0.29%
1974 60.27M −624,000 −1.02%
1973 60.9M −226,000 −0.37%
1972 61.12M +112,000 +0.18%
1971 61.01M +323,000 +0.53%
1970 60.69M −860,000 −1.4%
1969 61.55M +478,000 +0.78%
1968 61.07M +672,000 +1.11%
1967 60.4M +94,000 +0.16%
1966 60.31M −328,000 −0.54%
1965 60.63M +172,000 +0.28%
1964 60.46M +784,000 +1.31%
1963 59.68M +356,000 +0.6%
1962 59.32M +340,000 +0.58%
1961 58.98M

About the indicator

The area of arable land: land under annual crops, temporary meadows, kitchen gardens and land lying fallow for up to five years. It differs from agricultural land in excluding pasture and permanent crops — and since pasture makes up most of agricultural land, arable land is usually about a third the size. The world area of arable land has barely grown since the 1990s: the added output of recent decades came from yields, not from an expansion of fields.

Important: Land lying fallow for up to five years is included, abandoned land is not. Permanent crops — orchards, vineyards, plantations — do not count as arable land.

Source: FAOSTAT (FAO), license CC BY 4.0.