Arable land — all countries

Arable land — OECD

Arable land in the OECD in 2023 — 363,293,112 ha. Since 1961, the indicator has fallen by 8.8%.

2023 363M ha −0.23% vs 2022
World rank
Period maximum 410M ha1969
Period minimum 363M ha2023

Trend over time

1961–2023 · hectares

Arable land — OECD, 1961–2023360M380M400M420M19611968197519821989199620032010201720231961: 398,260,986 ha1963: 398,737,956 ha1965: 397,078,135 ha1967: 395,145,438 ha1969: 410,415,844 ha1971: 402,096,000 ha1973: 398,921,150 ha1975: 396,342,200 ha1977: 398,014,900 ha1979: 403,586,737 ha1981: 404,609,742 ha1983: 403,265,804 ha1985: 406,466,641 ha1987: 404,225,406 ha1989: 401,926,208 ha1991: 401,096,758 ha1993: 406,654,245 ha1995: 402,390,698 ha1997: 402,275,537 ha1999: 400,947,177 ha2001: 399,174,426 ha2003: 389,949,633 ha2005: 387,448,038 ha2007: 375,475,244 ha2009: 375,130,468 ha2011: 373,309,441 ha2013: 371,896,609 ha2015: 372,240,504 ha2017: 370,819,270 ha2019: 367,001,175 ha2021: 366,056,604 ha2023: 363,293,112 ha
Change over the period: −34.97M (−8.78%) Average annual rate: -0.15 %

Comparison, 2023

How the value compares with the world and the groups this territory belongs to: OECD

OECD 363M ha
World computed 1.38B ha
Arable land — OECD, by year OECD All countries CSV XLSX
Year ha Change Change, %
2023 363M −821,092 −0.23%
2022 364M −1.94M −0.53%
2021 366M −24,912 −0.01%
2020 366M −919,659 −0.25%
2019 367M −2.14M −0.58%
2018 369M −1.68M −0.45%
2017 371M −448,409 −0.12%
2016 371M −972,826 −0.26%
2015 372M −959,859 −0.26%
2014 373M +1.3M +0.35%
2013 372M −572,545 −0.15%
2012 372M −840,287 −0.23%
2011 373M +3.29M +0.89%
2010 370M −5.12M −1.36%
2009 375M +660,032 +0.18%
2008 374M −1M −0.27%
2007 375M −5.79M −1.52%
2006 381M −6.19M −1.6%
2005 387M −2.63M −0.67%
2004 390M +129,763 +0.03%
2003 390M −4.4M −1.12%
2002 394M −4.83M −1.21%
2001 399M −2.14M −0.53%
2000 401M +369,811 +0.09%
1999 401M −515,406 −0.13%
1998 401M −812,955 −0.2%
1997 402M +283,409 +0.07%
1996 402M −398,570 −0.1%
1995 402M −3.25M −0.8%
1994 406M −1.01M −0.25%
1993 407M +3.49M +0.87%
1992 403M +2.07M +0.52%
1991 401M −265,232 −0.07%
1990 401M −564,218 −0.14%
1989 402M −209,334 −0.05%
1988 402M −2.09M −0.52%
1987 404M −2.06M −0.51%
1986 406M −180,048 −0.04%
1985 406M −465,618 −0.11%
1984 407M +3.67M +0.91%
1983 403M −556,342 −0.14%
1982 404M −787,597 −0.19%
1981 405M +587,205 +0.15%
1980 404M +435,800 +0.11%
1979 404M +1.07M +0.27%
1978 403M +4.5M +1.13%
1977 398M +910,100 +0.23%
1976 397M +762,600 +0.19%
1975 396M −1.57M −0.4%
1974 398M −1M −0.25%
1973 399M −2.99M −0.74%
1972 402M −182,700 −0.05%
1971 402M −4.35M −1.07%
1970 406M −3.97M −0.97%
1969 410M +7.15M +1.77%
1968 403M +8.12M +2.06%
1967 395M −1.47M −0.37%
1966 397M −461,471 −0.12%
1965 397M −374,920 −0.09%
1964 397M −1.28M −0.32%
1963 399M +2.91M +0.73%
1962 396M −2.43M −0.61%
1961 398M

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.