Land area in World
World: Land area was 129.76 million sq. km in 2023. ▲ Rising
Land area in World, 1961–2023
Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in sq. km.
Analysis
The most recent figure for land area in World is 129.76 million sq. km, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of down 0.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land area in World peaked at 129.96 million sq. km in 2020 and was at its lowest, 104.21 million sq. km, in 1989.
That places World 1st out of 48 groups with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 104.22 million sq. km | 104.22 million sq. km | 104.22 million sq. km | 9 |
| 1970s | 104.22 million sq. km | 104.22 million sq. km | 104.22 million sq. km | 10 |
| 1980s | 104.21 million sq. km | 104.21 million sq. km | 104.22 million sq. km | 10 |
| 1990s | 122.38 million sq. km | 104.21 million sq. km | 127.12 million sq. km | 10 |
| 2000s | 127.33 million sq. km | 127.19 million sq. km | 127.45 million sq. km | 10 |
| 2010s | 129.44 million sq. km | 127.44 million sq. km | 129.95 million sq. km | 10 |
| 2020s | 129.82 million sq. km | 129.76 million sq. km | 129.96 million sq. km | 4 |
Countries ranked near World
More agriculture & rural data for World
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 4.75 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 4.0% (2025)
- Rural population 3.46 billion (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.3% (2025)
- Rural population 42.2% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.2% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.2% (2024)
- Land under cereal production 415.70 million hectares (2024)
- Cereal production 1.64 billion metric tons (2024)
- Cereal yield 3,955 kg per hectare (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land area in World?
- Land area in World was 129.76 million sq. km in 2023, according to FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
- What is the highest land area recorded in World?
- The highest recorded value was 129.96 million sq. km in 2020.
- What is the lowest land area recorded in World?
- The lowest recorded value was 104.21 million sq. km in 1989.
- How does World rank for land area?
- World ranks 1st out of 48 groups with data for 2023.
- Is land area rising or falling in World?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this World data come from?
- The figures come from FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), published as part of Land area (sq. km). 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
Land area is a country's total area, excluding area under inland water bodies, national claims to continental shelf, and exclusive economic zones. In most cases the definition of inland water bodies includes major rivers and lakes.