Arable land in North America
North America: Arable land was 0.5034 hectares per person in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
0.5034 hectares per person
Change on year
down 1.1%
Rank
2nd
of 45 groups
All-time high
1.08 hectares per person
in 1961
All-time low
0.5034 hectares per person
in 2023
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Arable land in North America, 1961–2023
Source: FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in hectares per person.
Analysis
In 2023, arable land in North America stood at 0.5034 hectares per person. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
That represents a change of down 1.1% on the previous year and down 8.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land in North America peaked at 1.08 hectares per person in 1961 and was at its lowest, 0.5034 hectares per person, in 2023.
That places North America 2nd out of 45 groups with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Arable land in North America, year by year
| Year | hectares per person | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1.08 hectares per person | — |
| 1962 | 1.04 hectares per person | -3.0% |
| 1963 | 1.04 hectares per person | -0.2% |
| 1964 | 1.02 hectares per person | -2.0% |
| 1965 | 1 hectares per person | -1.6% |
| 1966 | 0.9874 hectares per person | -1.7% |
| 1967 | 0.9709 hectares per person | -1.7% |
| 1968 | 0.9904 hectares per person | +2.0% |
| 1969 | 1.02 hectares per person | +2.7% |
| 1970 | 1 hectares per person | -1.4% |
| 1971 | 0.9871 hectares per person | -1.6% |
| 1972 | 0.9745 hectares per person | -1.3% |
| 1973 | 0.9634 hectares per person | -1.1% |
| 1974 | 0.9522 hectares per person | -1.2% |
| 1975 | 0.943 hectares per person | -1.0% |
| 1976 | 0.9342 hectares per person | -0.9% |
| 1977 | 0.9262 hectares per person | -0.9% |
| 1978 | 0.9266 hectares per person | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 0.9176 hectares per person | -1.0% |
| 1980 | 0.9097 hectares per person | -0.9% |
| 1981 | 0.9017 hectares per person | -0.9% |
| 1982 | 0.8898 hectares per person | -1.3% |
| 1983 | 0.8825 hectares per person | -0.8% |
| 1984 | 0.8755 hectares per person | -0.8% |
| 1985 | 0.8686 hectares per person | -0.8% |
| 1986 | 0.8613 hectares per person | -0.8% |
| 1987 | 0.8455 hectares per person | -1.8% |
| 1988 | 0.8374 hectares per person | -1.0% |
| 1989 | 0.8284 hectares per person | -1.1% |
| 1990 | 0.8185 hectares per person | -1.2% |
| 1991 | 0.8073 hectares per person | -1.4% |
| 1992 | 0.7904 hectares per person | -2.1% |
| 1993 | 0.7756 hectares per person | -1.9% |
| 1994 | 0.7632 hectares per person | -1.6% |
| 1995 | 0.7539 hectares per person | -1.2% |
| 1996 | 0.7355 hectares per person | -2.4% |
| 1997 | 0.7226 hectares per person | -1.8% |
| 1998 | 0.7116 hectares per person | -1.5% |
| 1999 | 0.6996 hectares per person | -1.7% |
| 2000 | 0.6917 hectares per person | -1.1% |
| 2001 | 0.6847 hectares per person | -1.0% |
| 2002 | 0.6695 hectares per person | -2.2% |
| 2003 | 0.6557 hectares per person | -2.1% |
| 2004 | 0.6418 hectares per person | -2.1% |
| 2005 | 0.6281 hectares per person | -2.1% |
| 2006 | 0.6145 hectares per person | -2.2% |
| 2007 | 0.6005 hectares per person | -2.3% |
| 2008 | 0.5895 hectares per person | -1.8% |
| 2009 | 0.579 hectares per person | -1.8% |
| 2010 | 0.5688 hectares per person | -1.8% |
| 2011 | 0.5591 hectares per person | -1.7% |
| 2012 | 0.5512 hectares per person | -1.4% |
| 2013 | 0.5491 hectares per person | -0.4% |
| 2014 | 0.5468 hectares per person | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 0.5446 hectares per person | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 0.5421 hectares per person | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 0.5394 hectares per person | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 0.5333 hectares per person | -1.1% |
| 2019 | 0.5266 hectares per person | -1.2% |
| 2020 | 0.5198 hectares per person | -1.3% |
| 2021 | 0.5156 hectares per person | -0.8% |
| 2022 | 0.5091 hectares per person | -1.3% |
| 2023 | 0.5034 hectares per person | -1.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.02 hectares per person | 0.9709 hectares per person | 1.08 hectares per person | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.9528 hectares per person | 0.9176 hectares per person | 1 hectares per person | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.87 hectares per person | 0.8284 hectares per person | 0.9097 hectares per person | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.7578 hectares per person | 0.6996 hectares per person | 0.8185 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.6355 hectares per person | 0.579 hectares per person | 0.6917 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.5461 hectares per person | 0.5266 hectares per person | 0.5688 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.512 hectares per person | 0.5034 hectares per person | 0.5198 hectares per person | 4 |
Countries ranked near North America
More agriculture & rural data for North America
- Rural population, per capita 0.1951 units per person (2025)
- Rural population 74.83 million (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.2% (2025)
- Rural population 19.5% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.8% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.9% (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 691.3 current US$ per person (2021)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 11.18 % change on previous year (2021)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0099 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2021)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 256.06 billion current US$ (2021)
Frequently asked questions
- What is arable land in North America?
- Arable land in North America was 0.5034 hectares per person in 2023, according to FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
- What is the highest arable land recorded in North America?
- The highest recorded value was 1.08 hectares per person in 1961.
- What is the lowest arable land recorded in North America?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5034 hectares per person in 2023.
- How does North America rank for arable land?
- North America ranks 2nd out of 45 groups with data for 2023.
- Is arable land rising or falling in North America?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this North America data come from?
- The figures come from FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), published as part of Arable land (hectares per person). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Arable land (hectares per person) includes land defined by the FAO as land under temporary crops (double-cropped areas are counted once), temporary meadows for mowing or for pasture, land under market or kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow. Land abandoned as a result of shifting cultivation is excluded.