Is agricultural land expanding? Change over the prior decade in India
India: Is agricultural land expanding? Change over the prior decade was -0.6% in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Is agricultural land expanding? Change over the prior decade in India, 1971–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
India recorded -0.6% for is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade in 2023.
The figure is down 3.8% on the previous year and down 105.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade in India peaked at 1.6% in 1971 and was at its lowest, -0.8%, in 2010.
That places India 147th out of 225 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Is agricultural land expanding? Change over the prior decade in India, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 1.6% | — |
| 1972 | 0.8% | -49.3% |
| 1973 | 1.5% | +77.7% |
| 1974 | 1.5% | -1.4% |
| 1975 | 1.4% | -2.3% |
| 1976 | 1.2% | -16.0% |
| 1977 | 1.0% | -15.9% |
| 1978 | 1.2% | +24.5% |
| 1979 | 1.6% | +25.5% |
| 1980 | 1.2% | -20.5% |
| 1981 | 1.5% | +16.5% |
| 1982 | 1.6% | +9.2% |
| 1983 | 1.0% | -39.7% |
| 1984 | 1.2% | +26.5% |
| 1985 | 0.9% | -24.3% |
| 1986 | 0.9% | -6.2% |
| 1987 | 1.1% | +26.5% |
| 1988 | 0.3% | -74.6% |
| 1989 | 0.5% | +84.6% |
| 1990 | 0.6% | +24.1% |
| 1991 | 0.7% | +3.8% |
| 1992 | 0.3% | -55.0% |
| 1993 | 0.5% | +72.6% |
| 1994 | -0.1% | -117.4% |
| 1995 | -0.2% | +145.5% |
| 1996 | -0.3% | +52.8% |
| 1997 | -0.3% | -7.0% |
| 1998 | -0.1% | -61.3% |
| 1999 | -0.3% | +120.7% |
| 2000 | -0.2% | -8.7% |
| 2001 | -0.6% | +150.7% |
| 2002 | -0.4% | -32.1% |
| 2003 | -0.6% | +52.0% |
| 2004 | -0.5% | -19.1% |
| 2005 | -0.5% | -10.4% |
| 2006 | -0.4% | -16.4% |
| 2007 | -0.8% | +98.8% |
| 2008 | -0.6% | -17.9% |
| 2009 | -0.5% | -14.8% |
| 2010 | -0.8% | +47.2% |
| 2011 | -0.5% | -41.6% |
| 2012 | -0.5% | +12.3% |
| 2013 | -0.3% | -39.9% |
| 2014 | -0.4% | +17.3% |
| 2015 | -0.3% | -30.2% |
| 2016 | -0.2% | -27.2% |
| 2017 | -0.2% | +17.3% |
| 2018 | -0.4% | +66.8% |
| 2019 | -0.6% | +59.3% |
| 2020 | -0.6% | +2.4% |
| 2021 | -0.6% | +7.9% |
| 2022 | -0.6% | -3.7% |
| 2023 | -0.6% | +3.8% |
India compared with similar countries
- India's -0.6% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1.1%. (47 countries reporting)
- India's -0.6% is below the median for South Asia, which is 0.4%. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.3% | 0.8% | 1.6% | 9 |
| 1980s | 1.0% | 0.3% | 1.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.1% | -0.3% | 0.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | -0.5% | -0.8% | -0.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | -0.4% | -0.8% | -0.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | -0.6% | -0.6% | -0.6% | 4 |
Countries ranked near India
More agriculture & rural data for India
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual -2.83 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.1623 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 438.73 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.4067 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.6431 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 16.2% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 16.2% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.5% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade in India?
- Is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade in India was -0.6% 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 is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade recorded in India?
- The highest recorded value was 1.6% in 1971.
- What is the lowest is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.8% in 2010.
- How does India rank for is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade?
- India ranks 147th out of 225 countries with data for 2023.
- Is is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is down 105.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this India 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 Is agricultural land expanding? Change over the prior decade. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Percentage change in surface area devoted to agriculture with respect to 10 years before. Negative values imply that surface area has decreased with respect to the previous decade. This data is used to assess which countries may have already peaked in their agricultural land use.