Agricultural land use in United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates: Agricultural land use was 391,704 hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
391,704 hectares
Change on year
up 0.0%
World rank
154th
of 227 countries
All-time high
566,000 hectares
in 2002
All-time low
208,000 hectares
in 1961
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Agricultural land use in United Arab Emirates, 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 United Arab Emirates stood at 391,704 hectares.
That represents a change of up 3.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural land use in United Arab Emirates peaked at 566,000 hectares in 2002 and was at its lowest, 208,000 hectares, in 1961.
That places United Arab Emirates 154th out of 227 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Agricultural land use in United Arab Emirates, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 208,000 hectares | — |
| 1962 | 208,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 208,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 208,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 209,000 hectares | +0.5% |
| 1966 | 210,000 hectares | +0.5% |
| 1967 | 210,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 210,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 210,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 212,000 hectares | +1.0% |
| 1971 | 212,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 212,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 213,000 hectares | +0.5% |
| 1974 | 214,000 hectares | +0.5% |
| 1975 | 215,000 hectares | +0.5% |
| 1976 | 216,000 hectares | +0.5% |
| 1977 | 217,000 hectares | +0.5% |
| 1978 | 218,000 hectares | +0.5% |
| 1979 | 219,000 hectares | +0.5% |
| 1980 | 223,000 hectares | +1.8% |
| 1981 | 227,000 hectares | +1.8% |
| 1982 | 227,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 232,000 hectares | +2.2% |
| 1984 | 232,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 235,000 hectares | +1.3% |
| 1986 | 238,000 hectares | +1.3% |
| 1987 | 238,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 239,000 hectares | +0.4% |
| 1989 | 239,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 285,000 hectares | +19.2% |
| 1991 | 310,000 hectares | +8.8% |
| 1992 | 339,000 hectares | +9.4% |
| 1993 | 355,000 hectares | +4.7% |
| 1994 | 372,000 hectares | +4.8% |
| 1995 | 383,000 hectares | +3.0% |
| 1996 | 387,000 hectares | +1.0% |
| 1997 | 395,000 hectares | +2.1% |
| 1998 | 398,000 hectares | +0.8% |
| 1999 | 516,000 hectares | +29.6% |
| 2000 | 547,000 hectares | +6.0% |
| 2001 | 562,000 hectares | +2.7% |
| 2002 | 566,000 hectares | +0.7% |
| 2003 | 554,000 hectares | -2.1% |
| 2004 | 554,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 557,000 hectares | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 538,600 hectares | -3.3% |
| 2007 | 532,600 hectares | -1.1% |
| 2008 | 539,600 hectares | +1.3% |
| 2009 | 387,900 hectares | -28.1% |
| 2010 | 392,300 hectares | +1.1% |
| 2011 | 388,500 hectares | -1.0% |
| 2012 | 376,700 hectares | -3.0% |
| 2013 | 379,400 hectares | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 382,500 hectares | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 382,800 hectares | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 383,800 hectares | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 383,800 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 381,750 hectares | -0.5% |
| 2019 | 390,400 hectares | +2.3% |
| 2020 | 389,800 hectares | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 391,562 hectares | +0.5% |
| 2022 | 391,562 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 391,704 hectares | +0.0% |
United Arab Emirates compared with similar countries
- United Arab Emirates's 391,704 hectares is below the median for high income countries, which is 982,000 hectares, 40% of the median. (79 countries reporting)
- United Arab Emirates's 391,704 hectares is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 4.06 million hectares, 10% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Agricultural land use in United Arab Emirates 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | +29.6% | 398,000 hectares | 516,000 hectares |
| 2009 | -28.1% | 539,600 hectares | 387,900 hectares |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 209,000 hectares | 208,000 hectares | 210,000 hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 214,800 hectares | 212,000 hectares | 219,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 233,000 hectares | 223,000 hectares | 239,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 374,000 hectares | 285,000 hectares | 516,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 533,870 hectares | 387,900 hectares | 566,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 384,195 hectares | 376,700 hectares | 392,300 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 391,157 hectares | 389,800 hectares | 391,704 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near United Arab Emirates
More agriculture & rural data for United Arab Emirates
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 6.43 % change on previous year (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0077 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 386.83 current US$ per person (2024)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 3.73 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1404 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 0.8% (2024)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 0.8% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.0% (2023)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.4% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural land use in United Arab Emirates?
- Agricultural land use in United Arab Emirates was 391,704 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 United Arab Emirates?
- The highest recorded value was 566,000 hectares in 2002.
- What is the lowest agricultural land use recorded in United Arab Emirates?
- The lowest recorded value was 208,000 hectares in 1961.
- How does United Arab Emirates rank for agricultural land use?
- United Arab Emirates ranks 154th out of 227 countries with data for 2023.
- Is agricultural land use rising or falling in United Arab Emirates?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United Arab Emirates 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.