Arable land in Sweden
Sweden: Arable land was 2.53 million hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
2.53 million hectares
Change on year
down 0.1%
World rank
74th
of 206 countries
All-time high
3.55 million hectares
in 1961
All-time low
2.53 million hectares
in 2023
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Arable land in Sweden, 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 Sweden stood at 2.53 million hectares. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.1% on the previous year and down 2.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land in Sweden peaked at 3.55 million hectares in 1961 and was at its lowest, 2.53 million hectares, in 2023.
That places Sweden 74th out of 206 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Arable land in Sweden, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 3.55 million hectares | — |
| 1962 | 3.48 million hectares | -1.8% |
| 1963 | 3.29 million hectares | -5.5% |
| 1964 | 3.25 million hectares | -1.2% |
| 1965 | 3.16 million hectares | -2.9% |
| 1966 | 3.11 million hectares | -1.6% |
| 1967 | 3.10 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 1968 | 3.03 million hectares | -2.2% |
| 1969 | 3.05 million hectares | +0.8% |
| 1970 | 3.05 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1971 | 3.05 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1972 | 3.03 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 1973 | 3.01 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 1974 | 3.02 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 3.00 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 1976 | 3.00 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1977 | 2.99 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1978 | 3.00 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1979 | 2.98 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 1980 | 2.98 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1981 | 2.96 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 1982 | 2.95 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1983 | 2.94 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1984 | 2.93 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1985 | 2.92 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 1986 | 2.90 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 1987 | 2.89 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 1988 | 2.87 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 1989 | 2.85 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 1990 | 2.84 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1991 | 2.79 million hectares | -1.9% |
| 1992 | 2.77 million hectares | -0.8% |
| 1993 | 2.78 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1994 | 2.78 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 2.76 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 1996 | 2.81 million hectares | +1.6% |
| 1997 | 2.80 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 1998 | 2.78 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 1999 | 2.74 million hectares | -1.3% |
| 2000 | 2.60 million hectares | -5.3% |
| 2001 | 2.68 million hectares | +3.1% |
| 2002 | 2.65 million hectares | -0.9% |
| 2003 | 2.64 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 2.65 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 2.69 million hectares | +1.6% |
| 2006 | 2.65 million hectares | -1.5% |
| 2007 | 2.63 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2008 | 2.61 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 2009 | 2.63 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 2.62 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 2.60 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 2012 | 2.59 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 2.59 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 2014 | 2.58 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 2.58 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 2016 | 2.57 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 2017 | 2.56 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 2.54 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2019 | 2.54 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 2.54 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2021 | 2.54 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 2022 | 2.53 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2023 | 2.53 million hectares | -0.1% |
Sweden compared with similar countries
- Sweden's 2.53 million hectares is above the median for high income countries, which is 178,890 hectares, 14.1× the median. (77 countries reporting)
- Sweden's 2.53 million hectares is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.32 million hectares, 1.9× the median. (53 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.23 million hectares | 3.03 million hectares | 3.55 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 3.01 million hectares | 2.98 million hectares | 3.05 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.92 million hectares | 2.85 million hectares | 2.98 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.78 million hectares | 2.74 million hectares | 2.84 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.64 million hectares | 2.60 million hectares | 2.69 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.58 million hectares | 2.54 million hectares | 2.62 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.53 million hectares | 2.53 million hectares | 2.54 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sweden
More agriculture & rural data for Sweden
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 15.81 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.015 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 949.09 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -1.74 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1092 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 1.5% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 1.5% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 3.6% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.3% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is arable land in Sweden?
- Arable land in Sweden was 2.53 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 Sweden?
- The highest recorded value was 3.55 million hectares in 1961.
- What is the lowest arable land recorded in Sweden?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.53 million hectares in 2023.
- How does Sweden rank for arable land?
- Sweden ranks 74th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is arable land rising or falling in Sweden?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sweden 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.