Arable land in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)
Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income): Arable land was 7.8% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Arable land in Latin America & Caribbean (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
Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) recorded 7.8% for arable land in 2023.
That represents a change of down 2.1% on the previous year and up 2.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) peaked at 8.0% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 4.3%, in 1961.
Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) ranks 39th of 47 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Arable land in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income), year by year
| Year | % of land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 4.3% | — |
| 1962 | 4.4% | +1.3% |
| 1963 | 4.4% | +1.2% |
| 1964 | 4.5% | +1.3% |
| 1965 | 4.6% | +1.1% |
| 1966 | 4.6% | +1.8% |
| 1967 | 4.7% | +1.6% |
| 1968 | 4.8% | +2.5% |
| 1969 | 4.9% | +0.7% |
| 1970 | 4.9% | -0.1% |
| 1971 | 4.9% | +1.4% |
| 1972 | 5.0% | +2.3% |
| 1973 | 5.1% | +1.7% |
| 1974 | 5.2% | +1.4% |
| 1975 | 5.3% | +1.8% |
| 1976 | 5.5% | +3.4% |
| 1977 | 5.6% | +3.2% |
| 1978 | 5.8% | +2.9% |
| 1979 | 6.0% | +2.6% |
| 1980 | 6.1% | +2.8% |
| 1981 | 6.2% | +1.1% |
| 1982 | 6.3% | +1.2% |
| 1983 | 6.4% | +1.5% |
| 1984 | 6.4% | +1.1% |
| 1985 | 6.5% | +1.6% |
| 1986 | 6.5% | -0.4% |
| 1987 | 6.5% | +0.1% |
| 1988 | 6.5% | -0.4% |
| 1989 | 6.5% | -0.3% |
| 1990 | 6.5% | -0.0% |
| 1991 | 6.5% | -0.3% |
| 1992 | 6.4% | -0.6% |
| 1993 | 6.4% | -0.6% |
| 1994 | 6.3% | -0.5% |
| 1995 | 6.3% | -0.1% |
| 1996 | 6.4% | +0.6% |
| 1997 | 6.4% | +1.1% |
| 1998 | 6.5% | +1.2% |
| 1999 | 6.6% | +0.8% |
| 2000 | 6.6% | +0.6% |
| 2001 | 6.7% | +0.7% |
| 2002 | 6.7% | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 6.9% | +2.5% |
| 2004 | 7.0% | +1.4% |
| 2005 | 7.1% | +2.0% |
| 2006 | 7.2% | +1.7% |
| 2007 | 7.3% | +1.8% |
| 2008 | 7.3% | -0.7% |
| 2009 | 7.3% | -0.6% |
| 2010 | 7.5% | +2.9% |
| 2011 | 7.5% | +0.8% |
| 2012 | 7.6% | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 7.6% | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 7.6% | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 7.7% | +1.4% |
| 2016 | 7.7% | -0.0% |
| 2017 | 7.7% | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 7.7% | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 7.7% | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 7.9% | +2.7% |
| 2021 | 8.0% | +0.6% |
| 2022 | 8.0% | -0.2% |
| 2023 | 7.8% | -2.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 4.6% | 4.3% | 4.9% | 9 |
| 1970s | 5.3% | 4.9% | 6.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 6.4% | 6.1% | 6.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 6.4% | 6.3% | 6.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.0% | 6.6% | 7.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.6% | 7.5% | 7.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.9% | 7.8% | 8.0% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)
- 36 Belarus 27.4% compare
- 37 Slovakia 27.2% compare
- 38 Türkiye 26.3% compare
- 39 Azerbaijan 25.3% compare
- 40 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 25.0% compare
- 41 Guinea 24.4% compare
- 42 Syrian Arab Republic 24.0% compare
More agriculture & rural data for Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)
- Rural population, per capita 0.186 units per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 7.3% (2025)
- Rural population 116.59 million (2025)
- Rural population growth -0.6% (2025)
- Rural population 18.6% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.8% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 761.54 current US$ per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 7.97 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0732 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
All data for Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) →
Frequently asked questions
- What is arable land in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
- Arable land in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) was 7.8% 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 Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
- The highest recorded value was 8.0% in 2021.
- What is the lowest arable land recorded in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.3% in 1961.
- How does Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) rank for arable land?
- Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) ranks 39th out of 47 groups with data for 2023.
- Is arable land rising or falling in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Latin America & Caribbean (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.