What is the highest arable land recorded in Iceland?

The highest recorded value was 136,000 hectares in 1990.

What is the lowest arable land recorded in Iceland?

The lowest recorded value was 120,000 hectares in 1961.

How does Iceland rank for arable land?

Iceland ranks 144th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.

Is arable land rising or falling in Iceland?

Over the last ten years it is down 0.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.

Arable land in Iceland

Name: Arable land in Iceland
Creator: 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)
License: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)

Iceland: Arable land was 121,000 hectares in 2023. ▬ Flat

Latest (2023)

121,000 hectares

Change on year

unchanged

World rank

144th

of 206 countries

All-time high

136,000 hectares

in 1990

All-time low

120,000 hectares

in 1961

Years of data

1961–2023

Arable land in Iceland, 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

In 2023, arable land in Iceland stood at 121,000 hectares.

The figure is down 0.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, arable land in Iceland peaked at 136,000 hectares in 1990 and was at its lowest, 120,000 hectares, in 1961.

Iceland ranks 144th of 206 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

Arable land in Iceland, year by year

Annual values for Arable land (hectares) in Iceland, 1961 to 2023.
Year	hectares	Change
1961	120,000 hectares	—
1962	120,000 hectares	+0.0%
1963	120,000 hectares	+0.0%
1964	120,000 hectares	+0.0%
1965	120,000 hectares	+0.0%
1966	120,000 hectares	+0.0%
1967	120,000 hectares	+0.0%
1968	120,000 hectares	+0.0%
1969	120,000 hectares	+0.0%
1970	121,000 hectares	+0.8%
1971	122,000 hectares	+0.8%
1972	123,000 hectares	+0.8%
1973	124,000 hectares	+0.8%
1974	125,000 hectares	+0.8%
1975	126,000 hectares	+0.8%
1976	127,000 hectares	+0.8%
1977	129,000 hectares	+1.6%
1978	130,000 hectares	+0.8%
1979	131,000 hectares	+0.8%
1980	133,000 hectares	+1.5%
1981	133,000 hectares	+0.0%
1982	134,000 hectares	+0.8%
1983	134,000 hectares	+0.0%
1984	134,000 hectares	+0.0%
1985	134,000 hectares	+0.0%
1986	135,000 hectares	+0.7%
1987	135,000 hectares	+0.0%
1988	135,000 hectares	+0.0%
1989	135,000 hectares	+0.0%
1990	136,000 hectares	+0.7%
1991	136,000 hectares	+0.0%
1992	136,000 hectares	+0.0%
1993	135,000 hectares	-0.7%
1994	135,000 hectares	+0.0%
1995	135,000 hectares	+0.0%
1996	134,000 hectares	-0.7%
1997	133,000 hectares	-0.7%
1998	130,000 hectares	-2.3%
1999	129,000 hectares	-0.8%
2000	129,000 hectares	+0.0%
2001	129,000 hectares	+0.0%
2002	129,000 hectares	+0.0%
2003	129,000 hectares	+0.0%
2004	129,000 hectares	+0.0%
2005	129,000 hectares	+0.0%
2006	129,000 hectares	+0.0%
2007	125,000 hectares	-3.1%
2008	125,000 hectares	+0.0%
2009	124,000 hectares	-0.8%
2010	123,000 hectares	-0.8%
2011	122,200 hectares	-0.7%
2012	121,200 hectares	-0.8%
2013	121,200 hectares	+0.0%
2014	121,200 hectares	+0.0%
2015	121,000 hectares	-0.2%
2016	121,000 hectares	+0.0%
2017	121,000 hectares	+0.0%
2018	121,000 hectares	+0.0%
2019	121,000 hectares	+0.0%
2020	121,000 hectares	+0.0%
2021	121,000 hectares	+0.0%
2022	121,000 hectares	+0.0%
2023	121,000 hectares	+0.0%

Iceland compared with similar countries

Iceland's 121,000 hectares is below the median for high income countries, which is 178,890 hectares, 68% of the median. (77 countries reporting)
Iceland's 121,000 hectares is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.32 million hectares, 9% of the median. (53 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1960s	120,000 hectares	120,000 hectares	120,000 hectares	9
1970s	125,800 hectares	121,000 hectares	131,000 hectares	10
1980s	134,200 hectares	133,000 hectares	135,000 hectares	10
1990s	133,900 hectares	129,000 hectares	136,000 hectares	10
2000s	127,700 hectares	124,000 hectares	129,000 hectares	10
2010s	121,380 hectares	121,000 hectares	123,000 hectares	10
2020s	121,000 hectares	121,000 hectares	121,000 hectares	4

Countries ranked near Iceland

141 Eswatini 177,000 hectares compare
142 Costa Rica 167,133 hectares compare
143 Lebanon 134,214 hectares compare
145 Jamaica 120,000 hectares compare
146 East Timor 111,500 hectares compare
147 Belize 100,000 hectares compare
147 Bhutan 100,000 hectares compare

See the full ranking of 206 places →

More agriculture & rural data for Iceland

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 19.96 % change on previous year (2025)
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0365 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 3,593 current US$ per person (2025)
Rural population, annual growth rate 0.8983 % change on previous year (2025)
Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Rural population, per capita 0.0578 units per person (2025)
Share of GDP from agriculture 3.7% (2025)
Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 3.7% (2025)
Agricultural raw materials exports 0.5% (2025)
Agricultural raw materials imports 1.0% (2025)

All data for Iceland →

Frequently asked questions

What is arable land in Iceland?: Arable land in Iceland was 121,000 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 Iceland?: The highest recorded value was 136,000 hectares in 1990.
What is the lowest arable land recorded in Iceland?: The lowest recorded value was 120,000 hectares in 1961.
How does Iceland rank for arable land?: Iceland ranks 144th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
Is arable land rising or falling in Iceland?: Over the last ten years it is down 0.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this Iceland 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).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Arable land in Iceland. Statizoid, drawing on 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). Retrieved 06 October 2026, from https://agriculture.statizoid.com/stat/arable-land-hectares/iceland/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://agriculture.statizoid.com/stat/arable-land-hectares/iceland/">Arable land in Iceland</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: Arable land (hectares)
Unit: hectares
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)
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 206 places, 11,871 data points, 1961–2023
Last refreshed: 01 October 2026

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.