Arable land in IDA total
IDA total: Arable land was 11.9% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Arable land in IDA total, 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
IDA total recorded 11.9% for arable land in 2023. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and up 5.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land in IDA total peaked at 11.9% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 8.0%, in 1961.
That places IDA total 11th out of 45 groups with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Arable land in IDA total, year by year
| Year | % of land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 8.0% | — |
| 1962 | 8.1% | +0.3% |
| 1963 | 8.2% | +1.2% |
| 1964 | 8.2% | +0.9% |
| 1965 | 8.3% | +0.9% |
| 1966 | 8.3% | +0.1% |
| 1967 | 8.4% | +0.4% |
| 1968 | 8.4% | +0.4% |
| 1969 | 8.3% | -0.5% |
| 1970 | 8.4% | +0.4% |
| 1971 | 8.4% | -0.2% |
| 1972 | 8.4% | +0.5% |
| 1973 | 8.4% | +0.3% |
| 1974 | 8.4% | -0.4% |
| 1975 | 8.4% | +0.6% |
| 1976 | 8.5% | +0.4% |
| 1977 | 8.5% | +0.2% |
| 1978 | 8.6% | +1.3% |
| 1979 | 8.6% | +0.1% |
| 1980 | 8.7% | +0.9% |
| 1981 | 8.7% | -0.3% |
| 1982 | 8.8% | +1.6% |
| 1983 | 8.7% | -0.7% |
| 1984 | 8.9% | +1.3% |
| 1985 | 9.0% | +1.3% |
| 1986 | 8.9% | -0.2% |
| 1987 | 9.0% | +1.0% |
| 1988 | 9.1% | +0.2% |
| 1989 | 9.2% | +1.1% |
| 1990 | 9.2% | +0.7% |
| 1991 | 9.3% | +1.3% |
| 1992 | 9.4% | +0.5% |
| 1993 | 9.5% | +1.1% |
| 1994 | 9.6% | +0.8% |
| 1995 | 9.7% | +1.9% |
| 1996 | 9.8% | +0.8% |
| 1997 | 9.9% | +0.7% |
| 1998 | 9.9% | +0.5% |
| 1999 | 10.1% | +1.2% |
| 2000 | 10.1% | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 10.1% | +0.8% |
| 2002 | 10.2% | +0.5% |
| 2003 | 10.3% | +1.6% |
| 2004 | 10.3% | -0.1% |
| 2005 | 10.5% | +1.2% |
| 2006 | 10.6% | +0.9% |
| 2007 | 10.7% | +1.0% |
| 2008 | 10.8% | +0.8% |
| 2009 | 10.9% | +1.7% |
| 2010 | 11.1% | +1.2% |
| 2011 | 11.3% | +1.7% |
| 2012 | 11.2% | -0.6% |
| 2013 | 11.3% | +1.2% |
| 2014 | 11.4% | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 11.5% | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 11.6% | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 11.7% | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 11.8% | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 11.8% | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 11.8% | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 11.8% | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 11.9% | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 11.9% | +0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 8.2% | 8.0% | 8.4% | 9 |
| 1970s | 8.5% | 8.4% | 8.6% | 10 |
| 1980s | 8.9% | 8.7% | 9.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 9.6% | 9.2% | 10.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 10.4% | 10.1% | 10.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 11.5% | 11.1% | 11.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 11.9% | 11.8% | 11.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near IDA total
More agriculture & rural data for IDA total
- Rural population, per capita 0.5885 units per person (2025)
- Rural population 1.17 billion (2025)
- Rural population growth 1.3% (2025)
- Rural population 58.9% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.6% (2023)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 3.4% (2023)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 314.62 current US$ per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 8.47 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.1956 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 625.10 billion current US$ (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is arable land in IDA total?
- Arable land in IDA total was 11.9% 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 IDA total?
- The highest recorded value was 11.9% in 2023.
- What is the lowest arable land recorded in IDA total?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.0% in 1961.
- How does IDA total rank for arable land?
- IDA total ranks 11th out of 45 groups with data for 2023.
- Is arable land rising or falling in IDA total?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this IDA total 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.