Arable land in OECD members
OECD members: Arable land was 0.2618 hectares per person in 2023. ▼ Falling
Arable land in OECD members, 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
OECD members recorded 0.2618 hectares per person for arable land in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.9% on the previous year and down 7.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land in OECD members peaked at 0.5043 hectares per person in 1961 and was at its lowest, 0.2618 hectares per person, in 2023.
That places OECD members 8th out of 47 groups with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Arable land in OECD members, year by year
| Year | hectares per person | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.5043 hectares per person | — |
| 1962 | 0.4942 hectares per person | -2.0% |
| 1963 | 0.491 hectares per person | -0.7% |
| 1964 | 0.4828 hectares per person | -1.7% |
| 1965 | 0.476 hectares per person | -1.4% |
| 1966 | 0.4696 hectares per person | -1.4% |
| 1967 | 0.4622 hectares per person | -1.6% |
| 1968 | 0.4661 hectares per person | +0.9% |
| 1969 | 0.4689 hectares per person | +0.6% |
| 1970 | 0.459 hectares per person | -2.1% |
| 1971 | 0.448 hectares per person | -2.4% |
| 1972 | 0.4425 hectares per person | -1.2% |
| 1973 | 0.4343 hectares per person | -1.9% |
| 1974 | 0.4285 hectares per person | -1.3% |
| 1975 | 0.4224 hectares per person | -1.4% |
| 1976 | 0.4191 hectares per person | -0.8% |
| 1977 | 0.4161 hectares per person | -0.7% |
| 1978 | 0.4168 hectares per person | +0.2% |
| 1979 | 0.4139 hectares per person | -0.7% |
| 1980 | 0.4104 hectares per person | -0.8% |
| 1981 | 0.4072 hectares per person | -0.8% |
| 1982 | 0.4028 hectares per person | -1.1% |
| 1983 | 0.3989 hectares per person | -1.0% |
| 1984 | 0.3993 hectares per person | +0.1% |
| 1985 | 0.3956 hectares per person | -0.9% |
| 1986 | 0.3923 hectares per person | -0.9% |
| 1987 | 0.3871 hectares per person | -1.3% |
| 1988 | 0.382 hectares per person | -1.3% |
| 1989 | 0.3785 hectares per person | -0.9% |
| 1990 | 0.3745 hectares per person | -1.1% |
| 1991 | 0.3705 hectares per person | -1.1% |
| 1992 | 0.3655 hectares per person | -1.4% |
| 1993 | 0.3603 hectares per person | -1.4% |
| 1994 | 0.3564 hectares per person | -1.1% |
| 1995 | 0.3507 hectares per person | -1.6% |
| 1996 | 0.3476 hectares per person | -0.9% |
| 1997 | 0.3451 hectares per person | -0.7% |
| 1998 | 0.3419 hectares per person | -0.9% |
| 1999 | 0.3389 hectares per person | -0.9% |
| 2000 | 0.3338 hectares per person | -1.5% |
| 2001 | 0.3296 hectares per person | -1.3% |
| 2002 | 0.3232 hectares per person | -1.9% |
| 2003 | 0.3173 hectares per person | -1.8% |
| 2004 | 0.3151 hectares per person | -0.7% |
| 2005 | 0.3108 hectares per person | -1.4% |
| 2006 | 0.3036 hectares per person | -2.3% |
| 2007 | 0.2969 hectares per person | -2.2% |
| 2008 | 0.2938 hectares per person | -1.0% |
| 2009 | 0.2922 hectares per person | -0.5% |
| 2010 | 0.2862 hectares per person | -2.0% |
| 2011 | 0.2872 hectares per person | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 0.2848 hectares per person | -0.8% |
| 2013 | 0.2827 hectares per person | -0.7% |
| 2014 | 0.282 hectares per person | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 0.2795 hectares per person | -0.9% |
| 2016 | 0.277 hectares per person | -0.9% |
| 2017 | 0.2751 hectares per person | -0.7% |
| 2018 | 0.2722 hectares per person | -1.0% |
| 2019 | 0.269 hectares per person | -1.2% |
| 2020 | 0.2673 hectares per person | -0.6% |
| 2021 | 0.2668 hectares per person | -0.2% |
| 2022 | 0.2641 hectares per person | -1.0% |
| 2023 | 0.2618 hectares per person | -0.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.4794 hectares per person | 0.4622 hectares per person | 0.5043 hectares per person | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.4301 hectares per person | 0.4139 hectares per person | 0.459 hectares per person | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.3954 hectares per person | 0.3785 hectares per person | 0.4104 hectares per person | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.3551 hectares per person | 0.3389 hectares per person | 0.3745 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.3116 hectares per person | 0.2922 hectares per person | 0.3338 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.2796 hectares per person | 0.269 hectares per person | 0.2872 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.265 hectares per person | 0.2618 hectares per person | 0.2673 hectares per person | 4 |
Countries ranked near OECD members
- 5 Ukraine 0.8726 hectares per person compare
- 6 Russia 0.8458 hectares per person compare
- 7 Lithuania 0.802 hectares per person compare
- 8 Moldova 0.7613 hectares per person compare
- 9 Latvia 0.722 hectares per person compare
- 10 Niger 0.6766 hectares per person compare
- 11 Paraguay 0.6664 hectares per person compare
More agriculture & rural data for OECD members
- Rural population, per capita 0.1868 units per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 1.4% (2024)
- Rural population 262.00 million (2025)
- Rural population growth -0.3% (2025)
- Rural population 18.7% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.1% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.3% (2024)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.3033 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0143 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 699.9 current US$ per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is arable land in OECD members?
- Arable land in OECD members was 0.2618 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 OECD members?
- The highest recorded value was 0.5043 hectares per person in 1961.
- What is the lowest arable land recorded in OECD members?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2618 hectares per person in 2023.
- How does OECD members rank for arable land?
- OECD members ranks 8th out of 47 groups with data for 2023.
- Is arable land rising or falling in OECD members?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this OECD members 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.