Agricultural land use in Canada
Canada: Agricultural land use was 56.88 million hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
56.88 million hectares
Change on year
down 0.4%
World rank
16th
of 227 countries
All-time high
63.70 million hectares
in 1966
All-time low
56.88 million hectares
in 2023
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Agricultural land use in Canada, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
In 2023, agricultural land use in Canada stood at 56.88 million hectares. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.4% on the previous year and down 1.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural land use in Canada peaked at 63.70 million hectares in 1966 and was at its lowest, 56.88 million hectares, in 2023.
That places Canada 16th out of 227 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Agricultural land use in Canada, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 61.84 million hectares | — |
| 1962 | 62.28 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 1963 | 62.72 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 1964 | 63.15 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 1965 | 63.59 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 1966 | 63.70 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1967 | 63.57 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1968 | 63.43 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1969 | 63.30 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1970 | 63.16 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1971 | 63.02 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1972 | 63.05 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 63.08 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 63.10 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 63.13 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 63.16 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 62.78 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 1978 | 62.41 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 1979 | 62.03 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 1980 | 61.66 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 1981 | 61.29 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 1982 | 61.21 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1983 | 61.13 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1984 | 61.06 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1985 | 60.98 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1986 | 60.90 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1987 | 61.02 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1988 | 61.15 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1989 | 61.28 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1990 | 61.40 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1991 | 61.53 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1992 | 61.47 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1993 | 61.40 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1994 | 61.33 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1995 | 61.26 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1996 | 61.19 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1997 | 61.22 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 61.24 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 61.26 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 61.29 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 61.31 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 62.09 million hectares | +1.3% |
| 2003 | 61.95 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 2004 | 61.80 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 2005 | 61.66 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 60.58 million hectares | -1.7% |
| 2007 | 60.01 million hectares | -1.0% |
| 2008 | 59.43 million hectares | -1.0% |
| 2009 | 58.86 million hectares | -1.0% |
| 2010 | 58.28 million hectares | -1.0% |
| 2011 | 57.70 million hectares | -1.0% |
| 2012 | 57.77 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 57.84 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 57.91 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 57.98 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 58.05 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 57.87 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2018 | 57.89 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 57.69 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2020 | 57.12 million hectares | -1.0% |
| 2021 | 56.99 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 2022 | 57.08 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 56.88 million hectares | -0.4% |
Canada compared with similar countries
- Canada's 56.88 million hectares is above the median for high income countries, which is 982,000 hectares, 57.9× the median. (79 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 63.06 million hectares | 61.84 million hectares | 63.70 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 62.89 million hectares | 62.03 million hectares | 63.16 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 61.17 million hectares | 60.90 million hectares | 61.66 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 61.33 million hectares | 61.19 million hectares | 61.53 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 60.90 million hectares | 58.86 million hectares | 62.09 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 57.90 million hectares | 57.69 million hectares | 58.28 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 57.02 million hectares | 56.88 million hectares | 57.12 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Canada
More agriculture & rural data for Canada
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 31.61 % change on previous year (2022)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0193 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2022)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 1,092 current US$ per person (2022)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.0803 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1712 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 1.9% (2022)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 1.9% (2022)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.7% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural land use in Canada?
- Agricultural land use in Canada was 56.88 million hectares in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest agricultural land use recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 63.70 million hectares in 1966.
- What is the lowest agricultural land use recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 56.88 million hectares in 2023.
- How does Canada rank for agricultural land use?
- Canada ranks 16th out of 227 countries with data for 2023.
- Is agricultural land use rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Canada data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Agricultural land use. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Land used for cultivation of crops and animal husbandry. The total of areas under cropland and permanent meadows and pastures.