Is agricultural land expanding? Change over the prior decade in Iran
Iran: Is agricultural land expanding? Change over the prior decade was 2.4% in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Is agricultural land expanding? Change over the prior decade in Iran, 1971–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade in Iran stood at 2.4%.
That represents a change of up 36.4% on the previous year and up 108.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade in Iran peaked at 8.4% in 1992 and was at its lowest, -28.7%, in 2014.
Iran ranks 49th of 225 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
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 Iran, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 1.5% | — |
| 1972 | 2.5% | +71.0% |
| 1973 | 3.6% | +41.0% |
| 1974 | 2.6% | -27.3% |
| 1975 | 1.6% | -37.5% |
| 1976 | 0.8% | -51.6% |
| 1977 | 0.2% | -69.6% |
| 1978 | -1.2% | -612.2% |
| 1979 | 0.4% | -132.4% |
| 1980 | -3.3% | -934.5% |
| 1981 | -3.1% | -6.4% |
| 1982 | -3.2% | +2.1% |
| 1983 | -3.7% | +16.2% |
| 1984 | -2.3% | -36.9% |
| 1985 | -0.1% | -95.0% |
| 1986 | 1.3% | -1180.2% |
| 1987 | 2.2% | +79.0% |
| 1988 | 5.1% | +127.8% |
| 1989 | 3.0% | -41.4% |
| 1990 | 6.6% | +119.4% |
| 1991 | 8.1% | +23.3% |
| 1992 | 8.4% | +3.3% |
| 1993 | 8.3% | -0.1% |
| 1994 | 7.8% | -7.1% |
| 1995 | 6.4% | -18.0% |
| 1996 | 6.1% | -3.4% |
| 1997 | 4.6% | -25.2% |
| 1998 | 4.7% | +2.7% |
| 1999 | 3.2% | -31.7% |
| 2000 | 2.3% | -30.1% |
| 2001 | 1.3% | -41.7% |
| 2002 | 0.4% | -69.3% |
| 2003 | 0.2% | -56.3% |
| 2004 | 0.5% | +191.1% |
| 2005 | -25.8% | -5134.6% |
| 2006 | -25.7% | -0.4% |
| 2007 | -24.7% | -4.0% |
| 2008 | -27.9% | +13.2% |
| 2009 | -26.7% | -4.5% |
| 2010 | -26.0% | -2.6% |
| 2011 | -27.3% | +5.1% |
| 2012 | -27.8% | +1.8% |
| 2013 | -28.5% | +2.5% |
| 2014 | -28.7% | +0.9% |
| 2015 | -3.5% | -87.7% |
| 2016 | -4.0% | +12.7% |
| 2017 | -3.4% | -14.1% |
| 2018 | 0.5% | -114.5% |
| 2019 | 0.6% | +31.2% |
| 2020 | 1.0% | +62.4% |
| 2021 | 1.5% | +38.5% |
| 2022 | 1.8% | +22.2% |
| 2023 | 2.4% | +36.4% |
Iran compared with similar countries
- Iran's 2.4% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is -0.0%. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Is agricultural land expanding? Change over the prior decade 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 | -5134.6% | 0.5% | -25.8% |
| 1986 | +1180.2% | -0.1% | 1.3% |
| 1980 | -934.5% | 0.4% | -3.3% |
| 1978 | -612.2% | 0.2% | -1.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.3% | -1.2% | 3.6% | 9 |
| 1980s | -0.4% | -3.7% | 5.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 6.4% | 3.2% | 8.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | -12.6% | -27.9% | 2.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | -14.8% | -28.7% | 0.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.7% | 1.0% | 2.4% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Iran
- 46 Bangladesh 3.2% compare
- 47 Israel 3.2% compare
- 48 Mozambique 3.0% compare
- 50 Estonia 2.4% compare
- 51 Lebanon 2.2% compare
- 52 Uzbekistan 2.1% compare
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 is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade in Iran?
- Is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade in Iran was 2.4% 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 Iran?
- The highest recorded value was 8.4% in 1992.
- What is the lowest is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade recorded in Iran?
- The lowest recorded value was -28.7% in 2014.
- How does Iran rank for is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade?
- Iran ranks 49th out of 225 countries with data for 2023.
- Is is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade rising or falling in Iran?
- Over the last ten years it is up 108.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- 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 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.