Agricultural land use in France
France: Agricultural land use was 28.30 million hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
28.30 million hectares
Change on year
down 0.3%
World rank
42nd
of 227 countries
All-time high
34.54 million hectares
in 1961
All-time low
28.30 million hectares
in 2023
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Agricultural land use in France, 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 France stood at 28.30 million hectares. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
The figure is down 0.3% on the previous year and down 1.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural land use in France peaked at 34.54 million hectares in 1961 and was at its lowest, 28.30 million hectares, in 2023.
France ranks 42nd of 227 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Agricultural land use in France, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 34.54 million hectares | — |
| 1962 | 34.44 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1963 | 34.35 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1964 | 34.11 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 1965 | 34.00 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1966 | 33.85 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 1967 | 33.63 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 1968 | 33.18 million hectares | -1.3% |
| 1969 | 33.17 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 1970 | 32.49 million hectares | -2.0% |
| 1971 | 32.62 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1972 | 32.52 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1973 | 32.46 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1974 | 32.44 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1975 | 32.36 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1976 | 32.02 million hectares | -1.0% |
| 1977 | 31.91 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1978 | 31.96 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1979 | 31.83 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 1980 | 31.72 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 1981 | 31.69 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1982 | 31.65 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1983 | 31.57 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1984 | 31.51 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1985 | 31.44 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1986 | 31.39 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1987 | 31.35 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1988 | 30.83 million hectares | -1.7% |
| 1989 | 30.74 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1990 | 30.59 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 1991 | 30.48 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 1992 | 30.38 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1993 | 30.29 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1994 | 30.20 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1995 | 30.15 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1996 | 30.10 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1997 | 30.04 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1998 | 29.98 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 29.93 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 2000 | 29.81 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 2001 | 29.71 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2002 | 29.61 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2003 | 29.53 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2004 | 29.46 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2005 | 29.39 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 29.31 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 29.21 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 2008 | 29.11 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 29.02 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 28.93 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 28.88 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 2012 | 28.84 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2013 | 28.77 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 2014 | 28.77 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2015 | 28.73 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2016 | 28.72 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2017 | 28.70 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 28.66 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 28.52 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2020 | 28.42 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 2021 | 28.43 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 28.39 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2023 | 28.30 million hectares | -0.3% |
France compared with similar countries
- France's 28.30 million hectares is above the median for high income countries, which is 982,000 hectares, 28.8× the median. (79 countries reporting)
- France's 28.30 million hectares is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 2.61 million hectares, 10.8× the median. (54 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 33.92 million hectares | 33.17 million hectares | 34.54 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 32.26 million hectares | 31.83 million hectares | 32.62 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 31.39 million hectares | 30.74 million hectares | 31.72 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 30.22 million hectares | 29.93 million hectares | 30.59 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 29.42 million hectares | 29.02 million hectares | 29.81 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 28.75 million hectares | 28.52 million hectares | 28.93 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 28.38 million hectares | 28.30 million hectares | 28.43 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near France
- 39 Morocco 29.79 million hectares compare
- 40 Kenya 28.77 million hectares compare
- 41 South Sudan 28.35 million hectares compare
- 43 Cote d'Ivoire 27.50 million hectares compare
- 44 Botswana 25.86 million hectares compare
- 45 Uzbekistan 25.58 million hectares compare
More agriculture & rural data for France
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 14.99 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.014 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 687.36 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.033 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.2115 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 1.4% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 1.4% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.0% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.1% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural land use in France?
- Agricultural land use in France was 28.30 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 France?
- The highest recorded value was 34.54 million hectares in 1961.
- What is the lowest agricultural land use recorded in France?
- The lowest recorded value was 28.30 million hectares in 2023.
- How does France rank for agricultural land use?
- France ranks 42nd out of 227 countries with data for 2023.
- Is agricultural land use rising or falling in France?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this France 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.