Arable land in Australia
Australia: Arable land was 30.99 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
30.99 million hectares
Change on year
down 0.9%
World rank
10th
of 206 countries
All-time high
31.96 million hectares
in 2014
All-time low
13.57 million hectares
in 1975
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Arable land in Australia, 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.
Analysis
Australia recorded 30.99 million hectares for arable land in 2023.
That represents a change of down 0.9% on the previous year and down 0.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land in Australia peaked at 31.96 million hectares in 2014 and was at its lowest, 13.57 million hectares, in 1975.
Australia ranks 10th of 206 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Arable land in Australia, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 14.38 million hectares | — |
| 1962 | 15.52 million hectares | +7.9% |
| 1963 | 15.38 million hectares | -0.9% |
| 1964 | 16.30 million hectares | +5.9% |
| 1965 | 17.33 million hectares | +6.3% |
| 1966 | 18.79 million hectares | +8.4% |
| 1967 | 19.27 million hectares | +2.6% |
| 1968 | 21.41 million hectares | +11.1% |
| 1969 | 19.64 million hectares | -8.3% |
| 1970 | 18.49 million hectares | -5.8% |
| 1971 | 16.86 million hectares | -8.9% |
| 1972 | 17.05 million hectares | +1.1% |
| 1973 | 14.92 million hectares | -12.5% |
| 1974 | 14.78 million hectares | -1.0% |
| 1975 | 13.57 million hectares | -8.2% |
| 1976 | 14.47 million hectares | +6.6% |
| 1977 | 14.84 million hectares | +2.6% |
| 1978 | 16.64 million hectares | +12.1% |
| 1979 | 17.27 million hectares | +3.8% |
| 1980 | 17.79 million hectares | +3.0% |
| 1981 | 18.23 million hectares | +2.5% |
| 1982 | 19.44 million hectares | +6.7% |
| 1983 | 19.25 million hectares | -1.0% |
| 1984 | 21.74 million hectares | +12.9% |
| 1985 | 20.96 million hectares | -3.6% |
| 1986 | 20.68 million hectares | -1.4% |
| 1987 | 19.60 million hectares | -5.2% |
| 1988 | 18.14 million hectares | -7.5% |
| 1989 | 17.53 million hectares | -3.4% |
| 1990 | 16.96 million hectares | -3.3% |
| 1991 | 17.21 million hectares | +1.5% |
| 1992 | 16.23 million hectares | -5.7% |
| 1993 | 17.11 million hectares | +5.5% |
| 1994 | 17.84 million hectares | +4.3% |
| 1995 | 16.84 million hectares | -5.6% |
| 1996 | 19.19 million hectares | +14.0% |
| 1997 | 20.90 million hectares | +8.9% |
| 1998 | 21.35 million hectares | +2.1% |
| 1999 | 22.99 million hectares | +7.7% |
| 2000 | 23.47 million hectares | +2.1% |
| 2001 | 24.20 million hectares | +3.1% |
| 2002 | 23.73 million hectares | -1.9% |
| 2003 | 23.24 million hectares | -2.1% |
| 2004 | 25.74 million hectares | +10.8% |
| 2005 | 26.40 million hectares | +2.6% |
| 2006 | 24.23 million hectares | -8.2% |
| 2007 | 23.12 million hectares | -4.6% |
| 2008 | 23.99 million hectares | +3.8% |
| 2009 | 27.14 million hectares | +13.1% |
| 2010 | 25.59 million hectares | -5.7% |
| 2011 | 31.69 million hectares | +23.8% |
| 2012 | 31.64 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 2013 | 31.22 million hectares | -1.3% |
| 2014 | 31.96 million hectares | +2.4% |
| 2015 | 31.09 million hectares | -2.7% |
| 2016 | 30.06 million hectares | -3.3% |
| 2017 | 30.75 million hectares | +2.3% |
| 2018 | 30.97 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 2019 | 30.57 million hectares | -1.3% |
| 2020 | 30.64 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 31.27 million hectares | +2.0% |
| 2022 | 31.27 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 30.99 million hectares | -0.9% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 30.99 million hectares is above the median for high income countries, which is 178,890 hectares, 173.2× the median. (77 countries reporting)
- Australia's 30.99 million hectares is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 94,150 hectares, 329.2× the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 17.56 million hectares | 14.38 million hectares | 21.41 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 15.89 million hectares | 13.57 million hectares | 18.49 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 19.33 million hectares | 17.53 million hectares | 21.74 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 18.66 million hectares | 16.23 million hectares | 22.99 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 24.53 million hectares | 23.12 million hectares | 27.14 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 30.56 million hectares | 25.59 million hectares | 31.96 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 31.04 million hectares | 30.64 million hectares | 31.27 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More agriculture & rural data for Australia
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 13.97 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0227 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 1,476 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.5855 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1228 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 2.3% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 2.3% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.7% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.5% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is arable land in Australia?
- Arable land in Australia was 30.99 million hectares 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 Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 31.96 million hectares in 2014.
- What is the lowest arable land recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.57 million hectares in 1975.
- How does Australia rank for arable land?
- Australia ranks 10th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is arable land rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia 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). 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 (in hectares) 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.