Agricultural land use in Iran
Iran: Agricultural land use was 47.07 million hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
47.07 million hectares
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
19th
of 227 countries
All-time high
64.79 million hectares
in 1998
All-time low
45.95 million hectares
in 2013
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Agricultural land use in Iran, 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 Iran stood at 47.07 million hectares.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural land use in Iran peaked at 64.79 million hectares in 1998 and was at its lowest, 45.95 million hectares, in 2013.
Iran ranks 19th of 227 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Agricultural land use in Iran, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 59.27 million hectares | — |
| 1962 | 59.29 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 59.35 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1964 | 59.41 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1965 | 59.47 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1966 | 59.48 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 59.55 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1968 | 59.60 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1969 | 59.67 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1970 | 59.70 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1971 | 60.15 million hectares | +0.8% |
| 1972 | 60.80 million hectares | +1.1% |
| 1973 | 61.48 million hectares | +1.1% |
| 1974 | 60.96 million hectares | -0.8% |
| 1975 | 60.44 million hectares | -0.9% |
| 1976 | 59.95 million hectares | -0.8% |
| 1977 | 59.69 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 1978 | 58.87 million hectares | -1.4% |
| 1979 | 59.91 million hectares | +1.8% |
| 1980 | 57.71 million hectares | -3.7% |
| 1981 | 58.28 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 1982 | 58.87 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 1983 | 59.21 million hectares | +0.6% |
| 1984 | 59.54 million hectares | +0.6% |
| 1985 | 60.37 million hectares | +1.4% |
| 1986 | 60.70 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1987 | 61.03 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1988 | 61.87 million hectares | +1.4% |
| 1989 | 61.70 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1990 | 61.50 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1991 | 63.00 million hectares | +2.4% |
| 1992 | 63.79 million hectares | +1.3% |
| 1993 | 64.15 million hectares | +0.6% |
| 1994 | 64.16 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 64.21 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1996 | 64.43 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1997 | 63.83 million hectares | -0.9% |
| 1998 | 64.79 million hectares | +1.5% |
| 1999 | 63.69 million hectares | -1.7% |
| 2000 | 62.88 million hectares | -1.3% |
| 2001 | 63.82 million hectares | +1.5% |
| 2002 | 64.04 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 64.27 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 64.49 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 47.63 million hectares | -26.1% |
| 2006 | 47.85 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 48.07 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 46.69 million hectares | -2.9% |
| 2009 | 46.69 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 46.54 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 46.39 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 46.25 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2013 | 45.95 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 2014 | 45.95 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 45.95 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 45.95 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 46.44 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 2018 | 46.91 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 2019 | 46.99 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 47.03 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2021 | 47.07 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 47.07 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 47.07 million hectares | +0.0% |
Iran compared with similar countries
- Iran's 47.07 million hectares is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 3.20 million hectares, 14.7× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Iran's 47.07 million hectares is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 4.06 million hectares, 11.6× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Agricultural land use in Iran changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | -26.1% | 64.49 million hectares | 47.63 million hectares |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 59.45 million hectares | 59.27 million hectares | 59.67 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 60.20 million hectares | 58.87 million hectares | 61.48 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 59.93 million hectares | 57.71 million hectares | 61.87 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 63.75 million hectares | 61.50 million hectares | 64.79 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 55.64 million hectares | 46.69 million hectares | 64.49 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 46.33 million hectares | 45.95 million hectares | 46.99 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 47.06 million hectares | 47.03 million hectares | 47.07 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Iran
More agriculture & rural data for Iran
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual -25.14 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.1059 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 415.77 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.6359 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.2262 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 10.6% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 10.6% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.3% (2022)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 3.0% (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural land use in Iran?
- Agricultural land use in Iran was 47.07 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 Iran?
- The highest recorded value was 64.79 million hectares in 1998.
- What is the lowest agricultural land use recorded in Iran?
- The lowest recorded value was 45.95 million hectares in 2013.
- How does Iran rank for agricultural land use?
- Iran ranks 19th out of 227 countries with data for 2023.
- Is agricultural land use rising or falling in Iran?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Iran 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.