Agricultural land use in South Korea
South Korea: Agricultural land use was 1.57 million hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
1.57 million hectares
Change on year
down 1.0%
World rank
130th
of 227 countries
All-time high
2.34 million hectares
in 1968
All-time low
1.57 million hectares
in 2023
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Agricultural land use in South Korea, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
The most recent figure for agricultural land use in South Korea is 1.57 million hectares, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
That represents a change of down 1.0% on the previous year and down 11.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural land use in South Korea peaked at 2.34 million hectares in 1968 and was at its lowest, 1.57 million hectares, in 2023.
That places South Korea 130th out of 227 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Agricultural land use in South Korea, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 2.11 million hectares | — |
| 1962 | 2.08 million hectares | -1.5% |
| 1963 | 2.10 million hectares | +0.9% |
| 1964 | 2.19 million hectares | +4.3% |
| 1965 | 2.28 million hectares | +4.0% |
| 1966 | 2.31 million hectares | +1.6% |
| 1967 | 2.34 million hectares | +0.9% |
| 1968 | 2.34 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1969 | 2.34 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1970 | 2.32 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 1971 | 2.30 million hectares | -1.1% |
| 1972 | 2.27 million hectares | -1.3% |
| 1973 | 2.27 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 2.27 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1975 | 2.27 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1976 | 2.27 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1977 | 2.27 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1978 | 2.26 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1979 | 2.25 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 1980 | 2.25 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1981 | 2.25 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1982 | 2.24 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1983 | 2.24 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1984 | 2.23 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1985 | 2.22 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 1986 | 2.22 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1987 | 2.22 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1988 | 2.21 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1989 | 2.20 million hectares | -0.8% |
| 1990 | 2.18 million hectares | -0.8% |
| 1991 | 2.16 million hectares | -0.8% |
| 1992 | 2.14 million hectares | -1.2% |
| 1993 | 2.12 million hectares | -0.8% |
| 1994 | 2.10 million hectares | -1.0% |
| 1995 | 2.05 million hectares | -2.3% |
| 1996 | 2.01 million hectares | -2.0% |
| 1997 | 1.98 million hectares | -1.2% |
| 1998 | 1.97 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 1999 | 1.95 million hectares | -0.8% |
| 2000 | 1.97 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 2001 | 1.95 million hectares | -1.4% |
| 2002 | 1.92 million hectares | -1.3% |
| 2003 | 1.90 million hectares | -0.9% |
| 2004 | 1.89 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2005 | 1.88 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 2006 | 1.86 million hectares | -1.2% |
| 2007 | 1.84 million hectares | -1.0% |
| 2008 | 1.82 million hectares | -1.2% |
| 2009 | 1.79 million hectares | -1.2% |
| 2010 | 1.77 million hectares | -1.2% |
| 2011 | 1.76 million hectares | -1.0% |
| 2012 | 1.79 million hectares | +1.8% |
| 2013 | 1.77 million hectares | -1.1% |
| 2014 | 1.75 million hectares | -1.2% |
| 2015 | 1.74 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2016 | 1.70 million hectares | -2.0% |
| 2017 | 1.68 million hectares | -1.4% |
| 2018 | 1.65 million hectares | -1.5% |
| 2019 | 1.64 million hectares | -0.9% |
| 2020 | 1.62 million hectares | -1.0% |
| 2021 | 1.60 million hectares | -1.1% |
| 2022 | 1.58 million hectares | -1.2% |
| 2023 | 1.57 million hectares | -1.0% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 1.57 million hectares is above the median for high income countries, which is 982,000 hectares, 1.6× the median. (79 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 1.57 million hectares is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 249,300 hectares, 6.3× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.23 million hectares | 2.08 million hectares | 2.34 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.28 million hectares | 2.25 million hectares | 2.32 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.23 million hectares | 2.20 million hectares | 2.25 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.07 million hectares | 1.95 million hectares | 2.18 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.88 million hectares | 1.79 million hectares | 1.97 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.72 million hectares | 1.64 million hectares | 1.79 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.59 million hectares | 1.57 million hectares | 1.62 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More agriculture & rural data for South Korea
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 0.2516 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0146 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 530.46 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.1591 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1883 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 1.5% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 1.5% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.8% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.9% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural land use in South Korea?
- Agricultural land use in South Korea was 1.57 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 South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 2.34 million hectares in 1968.
- What is the lowest agricultural land use recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.57 million hectares in 2023.
- How does South Korea rank for agricultural land use?
- South Korea ranks 130th out of 227 countries with data for 2023.
- Is agricultural land use rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 11.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Korea 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.