Arable land in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Arable land was 167,133 hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
167,133 hectares
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
142nd
of 206 countries
All-time high
285,000 hectares
in 1961
All-time low
167,133 hectares
in 2020
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Arable land in Costa Rica, 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
Costa Rica recorded 167,133 hectares for arable land in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
That represents a change of down 28.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land in Costa Rica peaked at 285,000 hectares in 1961 and was at its lowest, 167,133 hectares, in 2020.
Costa Rica ranks 142nd of 206 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Arable land in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 285,000 hectares | — |
| 1962 | 285,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 285,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 285,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 285,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 285,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 285,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 285,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 285,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 285,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 285,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 285,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 283,000 hectares | -0.7% |
| 1974 | 283,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 283,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 283,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 283,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 283,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 283,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 283,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 283,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 283,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 283,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 283,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 285,000 hectares | +0.7% |
| 1986 | 285,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 285,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 280,000 hectares | -1.8% |
| 1989 | 260,000 hectares | -7.1% |
| 1990 | 260,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 260,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 250,000 hectares | -3.8% |
| 1993 | 230,000 hectares | -8.0% |
| 1994 | 230,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 220,000 hectares | -4.3% |
| 1996 | 210,000 hectares | -4.5% |
| 1997 | 210,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 210,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 220,000 hectares | +4.8% |
| 2000 | 210,000 hectares | -4.5% |
| 2001 | 210,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 200,000 hectares | -4.8% |
| 2003 | 210,000 hectares | +5.0% |
| 2004 | 210,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 210,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 210,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 200,000 hectares | -4.8% |
| 2008 | 200,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 220,000 hectares | +10.0% |
| 2010 | 225,000 hectares | +2.3% |
| 2011 | 232,000 hectares | +3.1% |
| 2012 | 232,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 232,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 232,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 221,189 hectares | -4.7% |
| 2016 | 210,378 hectares | -4.9% |
| 2017 | 199,567 hectares | -5.1% |
| 2018 | 188,756 hectares | -5.4% |
| 2019 | 177,944 hectares | -5.7% |
| 2020 | 167,133 hectares | -6.1% |
| 2021 | 167,133 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 167,133 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 167,133 hectares | +0.0% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 167,133 hectares is below the median for high income countries, which is 178,890 hectares, 93% of the median. (77 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 167,133 hectares is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 167,133 hectares, 1.0× the median. (39 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 285,000 hectares | 285,000 hectares | 285,000 hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 283,600 hectares | 283,000 hectares | 285,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 281,000 hectares | 260,000 hectares | 285,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 230,000 hectares | 210,000 hectares | 260,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 208,000 hectares | 200,000 hectares | 220,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 215,083 hectares | 177,944 hectares | 232,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 167,133 hectares | 167,133 hectares | 167,133 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More agriculture & rural data for Costa Rica
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 4.56 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0337 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 672.15 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -1.57 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.2027 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 3.4% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 3.4% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.1% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.0% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is arable land in Costa Rica?
- Arable land in Costa Rica was 167,133 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 Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 285,000 hectares in 1961.
- What is the lowest arable land recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 167,133 hectares in 2020.
- How does Costa Rica rank for arable land?
- Costa Rica ranks 142nd out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is arable land rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 28.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Costa Rica 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.