Arable land in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)
Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income): Arable land was 17.8% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Arable land in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income), 1961–2023
Source: FAO electronic files and website, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in % of land area.
Analysis
In 2023, arable land in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) stood at 17.8%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) peaked at 33.1% in 1979 and was at its lowest, 17.7%, in 2019.
Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) ranks 8th of 47 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Arable land in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income), year by year
| Year | % of land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 29.4% | — |
| 1962 | 29.6% | +0.5% |
| 1963 | 30.5% | +3.3% |
| 1964 | 30.4% | -0.3% |
| 1965 | 30.5% | +0.1% |
| 1966 | 30.7% | +0.7% |
| 1967 | 30.5% | -0.6% |
| 1968 | 30.9% | +1.1% |
| 1969 | 32.3% | +4.7% |
| 1970 | 31.8% | -1.7% |
| 1971 | 32.0% | +0.8% |
| 1972 | 32.8% | +2.4% |
| 1973 | 32.7% | -0.1% |
| 1974 | 32.3% | -1.4% |
| 1975 | 32.0% | -1.0% |
| 1976 | 31.9% | -0.1% |
| 1977 | 32.2% | +0.8% |
| 1978 | 32.3% | +0.2% |
| 1979 | 33.1% | +2.5% |
| 1980 | 32.5% | -1.6% |
| 1981 | 32.7% | +0.5% |
| 1982 | 31.1% | -4.9% |
| 1983 | 30.5% | -2.0% |
| 1984 | 31.5% | +3.3% |
| 1985 | 31.6% | +0.4% |
| 1986 | 31.6% | -0.1% |
| 1987 | 32.1% | +1.6% |
| 1988 | 31.8% | -0.7% |
| 1989 | 31.9% | +0.3% |
| 1990 | 31.6% | -0.9% |
| 1991 | 31.7% | +0.1% |
| 1992 | 19.6% | -38.2% |
| 1993 | 19.6% | +0.1% |
| 1994 | 19.6% | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 19.6% | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 19.3% | -1.6% |
| 1997 | 19.2% | -0.7% |
| 1998 | 19.1% | -0.3% |
| 1999 | 19.0% | -0.3% |
| 2000 | 18.6% | -2.4% |
| 2001 | 18.4% | -1.1% |
| 2002 | 18.2% | -0.9% |
| 2003 | 18.1% | -0.6% |
| 2004 | 18.1% | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 18.2% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 18.2% | +0.1% |
| 2007 | 18.0% | -1.1% |
| 2008 | 17.9% | -0.5% |
| 2009 | 17.8% | -0.2% |
| 2010 | 17.9% | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 17.8% | -0.4% |
| 2012 | 17.8% | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 17.9% | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 17.9% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 17.9% | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 17.9% | -0.0% |
| 2017 | 17.8% | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 17.8% | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 17.7% | -0.5% |
| 2020 | 17.7% | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 17.8% | +0.4% |
| 2022 | 17.8% | -0.3% |
| 2023 | 17.8% | -0.0% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Arable land in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | -38.2% | 31.7% | 19.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 30.5% | 29.4% | 32.3% | 9 |
| 1970s | 32.3% | 31.8% | 33.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 31.7% | 30.5% | 32.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 21.8% | 19.0% | 31.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 18.1% | 17.8% | 18.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 17.8% | 17.7% | 17.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 17.8% | 17.7% | 17.8% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)
More agriculture & rural data for Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3167 units per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 6.2% (2025)
- Rural population 80.22 million (2025)
- Rural population growth 1.0% (2025)
- Rural population 31.7% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.6% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.8% (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 691.54 current US$ per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 8.41 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0622 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
All data for Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) →
Frequently asked questions
- What is arable land in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)?
- Arable land in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) was 17.8% in 2023, according to FAO electronic files and website, 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 Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)?
- The highest recorded value was 33.1% in 1979.
- What is the lowest arable land recorded in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.7% in 2019.
- How does Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) rank for arable land?
- Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) ranks 8th out of 47 groups with data for 2023.
- Is arable land rising or falling in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) data come from?
- The figures come from FAO electronic files and website, 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 (% of land area). 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 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.