Share of land area used for agriculture in Australia
Australia: Share of land area used for agriculture was 47.2% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Share of land area used for agriculture in Australia, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of land area.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of land area used for agriculture in Australia is 47.2%, measured in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.1% on the previous year and down 2.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area used for agriculture in Australia peaked at 66.9% in 1968 and was at its lowest, 44.5%, in 2016.
That places Australia 69th out of 209 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Share of land area used for agriculture in Australia, year by year
| Year | % of land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 61.8% | — |
| 1962 | 62.0% | +0.4% |
| 1963 | 62.4% | +0.6% |
| 1964 | 62.7% | +0.5% |
| 1965 | 63.3% | +0.9% |
| 1966 | 63.4% | +0.2% |
| 1967 | 63.7% | +0.5% |
| 1968 | 66.9% | +4.9% |
| 1969 | 66.5% | -0.5% |
| 1970 | 64.2% | -3.4% |
| 1971 | 65.0% | +1.2% |
| 1972 | 65.1% | +0.1% |
| 1973 | 64.8% | -0.4% |
| 1974 | 65.1% | +0.5% |
| 1975 | 65.0% | -0.2% |
| 1976 | 65.2% | +0.2% |
| 1977 | 64.0% | -1.8% |
| 1978 | 64.6% | +0.9% |
| 1979 | 64.2% | -0.6% |
| 1980 | 64.5% | +0.5% |
| 1981 | 64.5% | -0.0% |
| 1982 | 63.9% | -1.0% |
| 1983 | 63.0% | -1.4% |
| 1984 | 63.3% | +0.6% |
| 1985 | 63.4% | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 61.0% | -3.7% |
| 1987 | 61.3% | +0.5% |
| 1988 | 61.4% | +0.2% |
| 1989 | 60.8% | -1.0% |
| 1990 | 60.5% | -0.6% |
| 1991 | 60.2% | -0.4% |
| 1992 | 60.7% | +0.7% |
| 1993 | 59.9% | -1.3% |
| 1994 | 61.1% | +2.0% |
| 1995 | 60.3% | -1.2% |
| 1996 | 60.6% | +0.4% |
| 1997 | 60.2% | -0.6% |
| 1998 | 60.4% | +0.4% |
| 1999 | 59.1% | -2.2% |
| 2000 | 59.3% | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 59.3% | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 58.2% | -1.9% |
| 2003 | 57.2% | -1.7% |
| 2004 | 51.4% | -10.1% |
| 2005 | 53.4% | +3.9% |
| 2006 | 53.3% | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 51.9% | -2.7% |
| 2008 | 50.7% | -2.3% |
| 2009 | 50.0% | -1.3% |
| 2010 | 49.0% | -2.1% |
| 2011 | 51.6% | +5.2% |
| 2012 | 50.4% | -2.3% |
| 2013 | 48.4% | -4.0% |
| 2014 | 48.7% | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 45.3% | -7.0% |
| 2016 | 44.5% | -1.7% |
| 2017 | 48.3% | +8.5% |
| 2018 | 46.7% | -3.5% |
| 2019 | 47.1% | +1.0% |
| 2020 | 46.3% | -1.8% |
| 2021 | 47.3% | +2.2% |
| 2022 | 47.3% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 47.2% | -0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 63.6% | 61.8% | 66.9% | 9 |
| 1970s | 64.7% | 64.0% | 65.2% | 10 |
| 1980s | 62.7% | 60.8% | 64.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 60.3% | 59.1% | 61.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 54.5% | 50.0% | 59.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 48.0% | 44.5% | 51.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 47.0% | 46.3% | 47.3% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More agriculture & rural data for Australia
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 13.97 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0227 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 1,476 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.5855 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1228 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 2.3% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 2.3% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.7% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.5% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land area used for agriculture in Australia?
- Share of land area used for agriculture in Australia was 47.2% in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of land area used for agriculture recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 66.9% in 1968.
- What is the lowest share of land area used for agriculture recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 44.5% in 2016.
- How does Australia rank for share of land area used for agriculture?
- Australia ranks 69th out of 209 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of land area used for agriculture rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of land area used for agriculture. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The share of land area used for agriculture, measured as a percentage of total land area. Agricultural land refers to the share of land area that is arable, under permanent crops, and under permanent pastures.