Share of land area used for arable agriculture in Mexico
Mexico: Share of land area used for arable agriculture was 10.3% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of land area used for arable agriculture in Mexico, 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 arable agriculture in Mexico is 10.3%, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of down 2.6% on the previous year and down 11.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area used for arable agriculture in Mexico peaked at 12.2% in 2003 and was at its lowest, 9.0%, in 1979.
Mexico ranks 100th of 206 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Share of land area used for arable agriculture in Mexico, year by year
| Year | % of land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 10.0% | — |
| 1962 | 9.9% | -0.9% |
| 1963 | 9.9% | -0.4% |
| 1964 | 9.9% | -0.4% |
| 1965 | 9.8% | -0.4% |
| 1966 | 9.8% | -0.4% |
| 1967 | 9.7% | -0.5% |
| 1968 | 9.7% | -0.4% |
| 1969 | 9.7% | -0.4% |
| 1970 | 9.1% | -5.8% |
| 1971 | 9.1% | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 9.1% | -0.0% |
| 1973 | 9.1% | +0.2% |
| 1974 | 9.1% | -0.2% |
| 1975 | 9.1% | +0.1% |
| 1976 | 9.1% | +0.1% |
| 1977 | 9.1% | +0.3% |
| 1978 | 9.1% | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 9.0% | -1.1% |
| 1980 | 9.1% | +0.4% |
| 1981 | 9.1% | -0.3% |
| 1982 | 9.2% | +1.1% |
| 1983 | 9.4% | +3.0% |
| 1984 | 9.4% | -0.5% |
| 1985 | 9.4% | +0.3% |
| 1986 | 9.4% | +0.3% |
| 1987 | 9.9% | +4.9% |
| 1988 | 10.1% | +2.4% |
| 1989 | 10.6% | +4.9% |
| 1990 | 11.2% | +5.1% |
| 1991 | 11.5% | +3.3% |
| 1992 | 11.5% | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 11.6% | +0.5% |
| 1994 | 11.6% | +0.1% |
| 1995 | 11.6% | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 11.7% | +0.7% |
| 1997 | 11.7% | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 11.7% | +0.2% |
| 1999 | 11.8% | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 11.8% | -0.1% |
| 2001 | 11.9% | +1.1% |
| 2002 | 11.9% | +0.1% |
| 2003 | 12.2% | +2.0% |
| 2004 | 11.9% | -1.9% |
| 2005 | 12.0% | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 12.0% | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 12.1% | +0.7% |
| 2008 | 12.0% | -0.9% |
| 2009 | 11.9% | -0.7% |
| 2010 | 11.8% | -0.9% |
| 2011 | 11.7% | -0.9% |
| 2012 | 11.6% | -0.7% |
| 2013 | 11.6% | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 11.4% | -1.5% |
| 2015 | 11.3% | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 11.2% | -1.4% |
| 2017 | 10.4% | -6.9% |
| 2018 | 10.2% | -1.8% |
| 2019 | 10.0% | -2.5% |
| 2020 | 11.2% | +11.8% |
| 2021 | 11.1% | -0.1% |
| 2022 | 10.6% | -5.1% |
| 2023 | 10.3% | -2.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 9.8% | 9.7% | 10.0% | 9 |
| 1970s | 9.1% | 9.0% | 9.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 9.6% | 9.1% | 10.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 11.6% | 11.2% | 11.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 12.0% | 11.8% | 12.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 11.1% | 10.0% | 11.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.8% | 10.3% | 11.2% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Mexico
More agriculture & rural data for Mexico
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 0.4963 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0388 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 539.47 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.5998 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1996 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 3.9% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 3.9% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.1% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.7% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land area used for arable agriculture in Mexico?
- Share of land area used for arable agriculture in Mexico was 10.3% 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 arable agriculture recorded in Mexico?
- The highest recorded value was 12.2% in 2003.
- What is the lowest share of land area used for arable agriculture recorded in Mexico?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.0% in 1979.
- How does Mexico rank for share of land area used for arable agriculture?
- Mexico ranks 100th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of land area used for arable agriculture rising or falling in Mexico?
- Over the last ten years it is down 11.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Mexico 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 arable 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 arable agriculture, measured as a percentage of total land area. 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.