Land under cereal production in North America
North America: Land under cereal production was 54.08 million hectares in 2024. ▼ Falling
Land under cereal production in North America, 1961–2024
Source: FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in hectares.
Analysis
The most recent figure for land under cereal production in North America is 54.08 million hectares, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 64 years on record.
That represents a change of down 24.4% on the previous year and down 25.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land under cereal production in North America peaked at 99.41 million hectares in 1981 and was at its lowest, 54.08 million hectares, in 2024.
That places North America 24th out of 45 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
Land under cereal production in North America, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 81.85 million hectares | — |
| 1962 | 78.89 million hectares | -3.6% |
| 1963 | 80.98 million hectares | +2.6% |
| 1964 | 79.64 million hectares | -1.6% |
| 1965 | 79.00 million hectares | -0.8% |
| 1966 | 80.74 million hectares | +2.2% |
| 1967 | 85.65 million hectares | +6.1% |
| 1968 | 82.88 million hectares | -3.2% |
| 1969 | 77.59 million hectares | -6.4% |
| 1970 | 72.76 million hectares | -6.2% |
| 1971 | 81.90 million hectares | +12.6% |
| 1972 | 76.21 million hectares | -6.9% |
| 1973 | 83.29 million hectares | +9.3% |
| 1974 | 86.14 million hectares | +3.4% |
| 1975 | 90.10 million hectares | +4.6% |
| 1976 | 92.73 million hectares | +2.9% |
| 1977 | 90.86 million hectares | -2.0% |
| 1978 | 85.78 million hectares | -5.6% |
| 1979 | 86.06 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1980 | 90.87 million hectares | +5.6% |
| 1981 | 99.41 million hectares | +9.4% |
| 1982 | 97.70 million hectares | -1.7% |
| 1983 | 80.25 million hectares | -17.9% |
| 1984 | 93.06 million hectares | +16.0% |
| 1985 | 94.58 million hectares | +1.6% |
| 1986 | 89.27 million hectares | -5.6% |
| 1987 | 80.78 million hectares | -9.5% |
| 1988 | 75.95 million hectares | -6.0% |
| 1989 | 85.46 million hectares | +12.5% |
| 1990 | 87.25 million hectares | +2.1% |
| 1991 | 83.00 million hectares | -4.9% |
| 1992 | 86.07 million hectares | +3.7% |
| 1993 | 79.72 million hectares | -7.4% |
| 1994 | 81.99 million hectares | +2.8% |
| 1995 | 78.04 million hectares | -4.8% |
| 1996 | 85.45 million hectares | +9.5% |
| 1997 | 83.00 million hectares | -2.9% |
| 1998 | 79.88 million hectares | -3.8% |
| 1999 | 75.99 million hectares | -4.9% |
| 2000 | 76.74 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 2001 | 72.90 million hectares | -5.0% |
| 2002 | 68.75 million hectares | -5.7% |
| 2003 | 75.65 million hectares | +10.0% |
| 2004 | 72.94 million hectares | -3.6% |
| 2005 | 72.65 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 2006 | 68.81 million hectares | -5.3% |
| 2007 | 78.06 million hectares | +13.5% |
| 2008 | 77.51 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2009 | 73.00 million hectares | -5.8% |
| 2010 | 70.66 million hectares | -3.2% |
| 2011 | 70.28 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2012 | 75.25 million hectares | +7.1% |
| 2013 | 75.48 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 72.15 million hectares | -4.4% |
| 2015 | 72.71 million hectares | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 72.34 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 66.99 million hectares | -7.4% |
| 2018 | 68.65 million hectares | +2.5% |
| 2019 | 67.90 million hectares | -1.1% |
| 2020 | 69.16 million hectares | +1.9% |
| 2021 | 69.83 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 2022 | 66.64 million hectares | -4.6% |
| 2023 | 71.57 million hectares | +7.4% |
| 2024 | 54.08 million hectares | -24.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 80.80 million hectares | 77.59 million hectares | 85.65 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 84.58 million hectares | 72.76 million hectares | 92.73 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 88.73 million hectares | 75.95 million hectares | 99.41 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 82.04 million hectares | 75.99 million hectares | 87.25 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 73.70 million hectares | 68.75 million hectares | 78.06 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 71.24 million hectares | 66.99 million hectares | 75.48 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 66.26 million hectares | 54.08 million hectares | 71.57 million hectares | 5 |
Countries ranked near North America
More agriculture & rural data for North America
- Rural population, per capita 0.1951 units per person (2025)
- Rural population 74.83 million (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.2% (2025)
- Rural population 19.5% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.8% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.9% (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 691.3 current US$ per person (2021)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 11.18 % change on previous year (2021)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0099 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2021)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 256.06 billion current US$ (2021)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land under cereal production in North America?
- Land under cereal production in North America was 54.08 million hectares in 2024, according to FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
- What is the highest land under cereal production recorded in North America?
- The highest recorded value was 99.41 million hectares in 1981.
- What is the lowest land under cereal production recorded in North America?
- The lowest recorded value was 54.08 million hectares in 2024.
- How does North America rank for land under cereal production?
- North America ranks 24th out of 45 groups with data for 2024.
- Is land under cereal production rising or falling in North America?
- Over the last ten years it is down 25.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this North America data come from?
- The figures come from FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), published as part of Land under cereal production (hectares). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Land under cereal production refers to harvested area, although some countries report only sown or cultivated area. Cereals include wheat, rice, maize, barley, oats, rye, millet, sorghum, buckwheat, and mixed grains. Production data on cereals relate to crops harvested for dry grain only. Cereal crops harvested for hay or harvested green for food, feed, or silage and those used for grazing are excluded.