Share of agricultural land which is irrigated in Australia
Australia: Share of agricultural land which is irrigated was 0.5% in 2023. ▬ Flat
Share of agricultural land which is irrigated in Australia, 2001–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of total agricultural land.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of agricultural land which is irrigated in Australia is 0.5%, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and down 16.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of agricultural land which is irrigated in Australia peaked at 0.6% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 0.4%, in 2020.
Australia ranks 71st of 83 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
Share of agricultural land which is irrigated in Australia, year by year
| Year | % of total agricultural land | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 0.5% | — |
| 2002 | 0.6% | +3.5% |
| 2003 | 0.5% | -5.0% |
| 2004 | 0.6% | +12.4% |
| 2005 | 0.6% | -3.6% |
| 2006 | 0.6% | +6.1% |
| 2007 | 0.5% | -22.4% |
| 2008 | 0.5% | -1.5% |
| 2009 | 0.5% | -3.6% |
| 2010 | 0.5% | +6.7% |
| 2011 | 0.5% | +1.3% |
| 2012 | 0.6% | +11.6% |
| 2013 | 0.6% | +15.6% |
| 2014 | 0.6% | -1.4% |
| 2015 | 0.6% | -2.1% |
| 2016 | 0.6% | +1.5% |
| 2017 | 0.6% | -3.7% |
| 2018 | 0.6% | +6.1% |
| 2019 | 0.5% | -15.8% |
| 2020 | 0.4% | -20.7% |
| 2021 | 0.5% | +25.2% |
| 2022 | 0.5% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 0.5% | +0.1% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 0.5% is below the median for high income countries, which is 2.7%, 20% of the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Australia's 0.5% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 8.8%, 6% of the median. (8 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.6% | 9 |
| 2010s | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More agriculture & rural data for Australia
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 13.97 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0227 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 1,476 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.5855 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1228 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 2.3% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 2.3% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.7% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.5% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of agricultural land which is irrigated in Australia?
- Share of agricultural land which is irrigated in Australia was 0.5% in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of agricultural land which is irrigated recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 0.6% in 2018.
- What is the lowest share of agricultural land which is irrigated recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4% in 2020.
- How does Australia rank for share of agricultural land which is irrigated?
- Australia ranks 71st out of 83 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of agricultural land which is irrigated rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 16.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of agricultural land which is irrigated. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The percentage of total agricultural land area which is irrigated (i.e. purposely provided with water), including land irrigated by controlled flooding. Agricultural land is the combination of crop (arable) and grazing land.