Arable land in Mexico
Mexico: Arable land was 20.02 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
20.02 million hectares
Change on year
down 2.6%
World rank
15th
of 206 countries
All-time high
23.65 million hectares
in 2003
All-time low
17.59 million hectares
in 1979
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Arable land in Mexico, 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
Mexico recorded 20.02 million hectares for arable land in 2023.
That represents a change of down 2.6% on the previous year and down 11.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land in Mexico peaked at 23.65 million hectares in 2003 and was at its lowest, 17.59 million hectares, in 1979.
Mexico ranks 15th 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 Mexico, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 19.51 million hectares | — |
| 1962 | 19.34 million hectares | -0.9% |
| 1963 | 19.26 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 1964 | 19.18 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 1965 | 19.10 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 1966 | 19.02 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 1967 | 18.93 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 1968 | 18.85 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 1969 | 18.77 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 1970 | 17.69 million hectares | -5.8% |
| 1971 | 17.69 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 17.68 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 1973 | 17.72 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1974 | 17.69 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1975 | 17.71 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1976 | 17.74 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1977 | 17.78 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1978 | 17.79 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 17.59 million hectares | -1.1% |
| 1980 | 17.66 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1981 | 17.60 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1982 | 17.80 million hectares | +1.1% |
| 1983 | 18.33 million hectares | +3.0% |
| 1984 | 18.24 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 1985 | 18.29 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1986 | 18.34 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1987 | 19.23 million hectares | +4.9% |
| 1988 | 19.70 million hectares | +2.4% |
| 1989 | 20.66 million hectares | +4.9% |
| 1990 | 21.71 million hectares | +5.1% |
| 1991 | 22.42 million hectares | +3.3% |
| 1992 | 22.43 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 22.53 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1994 | 22.55 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1995 | 22.56 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 22.72 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 1997 | 22.79 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 22.83 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1999 | 22.92 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 22.91 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2001 | 23.15 million hectares | +1.1% |
| 2002 | 23.18 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2003 | 23.65 million hectares | +2.0% |
| 2004 | 23.21 million hectares | -1.9% |
| 2005 | 23.30 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 23.36 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 23.52 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 2008 | 23.31 million hectares | -0.9% |
| 2009 | 23.14 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2010 | 22.93 million hectares | -0.9% |
| 2011 | 22.72 million hectares | -0.9% |
| 2012 | 22.55 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2013 | 22.49 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 22.16 million hectares | -1.5% |
| 2015 | 22.05 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 21.75 million hectares | -1.4% |
| 2017 | 20.26 million hectares | -6.9% |
| 2018 | 19.90 million hectares | -1.8% |
| 2019 | 19.40 million hectares | -2.5% |
| 2020 | 21.68 million hectares | +11.8% |
| 2021 | 21.67 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2022 | 20.57 million hectares | -5.1% |
| 2023 | 20.02 million hectares | -2.6% |
Mexico compared with similar countries
- Mexico's 20.02 million hectares is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.03 million hectares, 19.5× the median. (57 countries reporting)
- Mexico's 20.02 million hectares is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 167,133 hectares, 119.8× the median. (39 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 19.11 million hectares | 18.77 million hectares | 19.51 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 17.71 million hectares | 17.59 million hectares | 17.79 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 18.58 million hectares | 17.60 million hectares | 20.66 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 22.55 million hectares | 21.71 million hectares | 22.92 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 23.27 million hectares | 22.91 million hectares | 23.65 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 21.62 million hectares | 19.40 million hectares | 22.93 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 20.99 million hectares | 20.02 million hectares | 21.68 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Mexico
More agriculture & rural data for Mexico
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 0.4963 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0388 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 539.47 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.5998 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1996 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 3.9% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 3.9% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.1% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.7% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is arable land in Mexico?
- Arable land in Mexico was 20.02 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 Mexico?
- The highest recorded value was 23.65 million hectares in 2003.
- What is the lowest arable land recorded in Mexico?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.59 million hectares in 1979.
- How does Mexico rank for arable land?
- Mexico ranks 15th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is arable land rising or falling in Mexico?
- Over the last ten years it is down 11.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Mexico 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.