What is the highest arable land recorded in North Korea?

The highest recorded value was 2.40 million hectares in 1994.

What is the lowest arable land recorded in North Korea?

The lowest recorded value was 2.15 million hectares in 1961.

How does North Korea rank for arable land?

North Korea ranks 79th out of 206 countries with data for 2024.

Is arable land rising or falling in North Korea?

Over the last ten years it is down 1.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Arable land (hectares) in North Korea

Name: Arable land (hectares) in North Korea
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)

North Korea: Arable land (hectares) was 2.29 million hectares in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)

2.29 million hectares

Change on year

unchanged

World rank

79th

of 206 countries

All-time high

2.40 million hectares

in 1994

All-time low

2.15 million hectares

in 1961

Years of data

1961–2024

Arable land in North Korea, 1961–2024

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

The most recent figure for arable land in North Korea is 2.29 million hectares, measured in 2024.

The figure is down 1.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, arable land in North Korea peaked at 2.40 million hectares in 1994 and was at its lowest, 2.15 million hectares, in 1961.

That places North Korea 79th out of 206 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.

Arable land (hectares) in North Korea, year by year

Annual values for Arable land (hectares) in North Korea, 1961 to 2024.
Year	hectares	Change
1961	2.15 million hectares	—
1962	2.15 million hectares	+0.0%
1963	2.15 million hectares	+0.0%
1964	2.15 million hectares	+0.0%
1965	2.15 million hectares	+0.0%
1966	2.15 million hectares	+0.0%
1967	2.15 million hectares	+0.0%
1968	2.15 million hectares	+0.0%
1969	2.15 million hectares	+0.0%
1970	2.15 million hectares	+0.0%
1971	2.15 million hectares	+0.0%
1972	2.15 million hectares	+0.0%
1973	2.20 million hectares	+2.3%
1974	2.20 million hectares	+0.0%
1975	2.20 million hectares	+0.0%
1976	2.20 million hectares	+0.0%
1977	2.20 million hectares	+0.0%
1978	2.20 million hectares	+0.0%
1979	2.20 million hectares	+0.0%
1980	2.29 million hectares	+3.9%
1981	2.29 million hectares	+0.0%
1982	2.29 million hectares	+0.0%
1983	2.29 million hectares	+0.0%
1984	2.29 million hectares	+0.0%
1985	2.29 million hectares	+0.0%
1986	2.29 million hectares	+0.0%
1987	2.29 million hectares	+0.0%
1988	2.29 million hectares	+0.0%
1989	2.29 million hectares	+0.0%
1990	2.29 million hectares	+0.1%
1991	2.30 million hectares	+0.5%
1992	2.30 million hectares	+0.0%
1993	2.30 million hectares	+0.0%
1994	2.40 million hectares	+4.3%
1995	2.40 million hectares	+0.0%
1996	2.30 million hectares	-4.2%
1997	2.30 million hectares	+0.0%
1998	2.30 million hectares	+0.0%
1999	2.30 million hectares	+0.0%
2000	2.30 million hectares	+0.0%
2001	2.30 million hectares	+0.0%
2002	2.30 million hectares	+0.0%
2003	2.30 million hectares	+0.0%
2004	2.30 million hectares	+0.0%
2005	2.35 million hectares	+2.2%
2006	2.35 million hectares	+0.0%
2007	2.35 million hectares	+0.0%
2008	2.40 million hectares	+2.1%
2009	2.40 million hectares	+0.0%
2010	2.40 million hectares	+0.0%
2011	2.35 million hectares	-2.1%
2012	2.35 million hectares	+0.0%
2013	2.35 million hectares	+0.0%
2014	2.33 million hectares	-0.6%
2015	2.32 million hectares	-0.6%
2016	2.31 million hectares	-0.4%
2017	2.29 million hectares	-0.6%
2018	2.29 million hectares	+0.0%
2019	2.29 million hectares	+0.0%
2020	2.29 million hectares	+0.0%
2021	2.29 million hectares	+0.0%
2022	2.29 million hectares	+0.0%
2023	2.29 million hectares	+0.0%
2024	2.29 million hectares	+0.0%

North Korea compared with similar countries

North Korea's 2.29 million hectares is below the median for low income countries, which is 3.00 million hectares, 76% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
North Korea's 2.29 million hectares is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 94,150 hectares, 24.4× the median. (34 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1960s	2.15 million hectares	2.15 million hectares	2.15 million hectares	9
1970s	2.19 million hectares	2.15 million hectares	2.20 million hectares	10
1980s	2.29 million hectares	2.29 million hectares	2.29 million hectares	10
1990s	2.32 million hectares	2.29 million hectares	2.40 million hectares	10
2000s	2.33 million hectares	2.30 million hectares	2.40 million hectares	10
2010s	2.33 million hectares	2.29 million hectares	2.40 million hectares	10
2020s	2.29 million hectares	2.29 million hectares	2.29 million hectares	5

Countries ranked near North Korea

76 South Sudan 2.39 million hectares compare
77 Denmark 2.35 million hectares compare
78 Lithuania 2.30 million hectares compare
80 Finland 2.24 million hectares compare
81 Uruguay 2.17 million hectares compare
82 Azerbaijan 2.09 million hectares compare

See the full ranking of 206 places →

More agriculture & rural data for North Korea

Cropland extent over the long-term, per capita 0.0957 hectares per person (2025)
Agricultural area over the long-term, annual growth rate -0.0251 % change on previous year (2025)
Agricultural area over the long-term, per capita 0.0976 hectares per person (2025)
Rural population, per capita 0.3581 units per person (2025)
Rural population, annual growth rate -0.6454 % change on previous year (2025)
Rural population growth -0.6% (2025)
Rural population 9.52 million (2025)
Cropland extent over the long-term, annual growth rate -0.0256 % change on previous year (2025)
Rural population 35.8% (2025)
Aquaculture production 685,700 metric tons (2024)

All data for North Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is arable land in North Korea?: Arable land in North Korea was 2.29 million hectares in 2024, 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 Korea?: The highest recorded value was 2.40 million hectares in 1994.
What is the lowest arable land recorded in North Korea?: The lowest recorded value was 2.15 million hectares in 1961.
How does North Korea rank for arable land?: North Korea ranks 79th out of 206 countries with data for 2024.
Is arable land rising or falling in North Korea?: Over the last ten years it is down 1.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this North Korea 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.

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Arable land in North Korea. 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 07 November 2026, from https://agriculture.statizoid.com/stat/arable-land-hectares/korea-dem-people-s-rep/

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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, 12,075 data points, 1961–2024
Last refreshed: 29 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.