Arable land needed to produce a fixed quantity of crops by country

Index of arable land needed to produce a fixed quantity of crops (where values in 1961 are equal to 1.0).

Countries reporting
161
Highest
4.61
Cuba
Lowest
0.0496
Djibouti
Median
0.3978
Years covered
63
1961–2023
Data points
10,097

What the numbers show

Arable land needed to produce a fixed quantity of crops is currently reported for 161 countries. The highest value is 4.61 in Cuba; the lowest is 0.0496 in Djibouti.

The median across all reporting countries is 0.3978, and the mean is 0.6143.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 93.

Over the past decade 48 countries rose and 113 fell. The largest increase was in Cuba (up 119.9%), and the largest decrease in Central African Republic (down 58.6%).

Arable land needed to produce a fixed quantity of crops: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Cuba 4.61 2023 up 119.9% rising
2 Saint Kitts and Nevis 4.57 2023 up 0.7% volatile
3 Gambia 3.35 2023 up 22.7% volatile
4 Sao Tome and Principe 3.15 2023 down 2.4% volatile
5 Cook Islands 2.82 2023 up 10.9% volatile
6 Tonga 2.61 2023 up 47.4% rising
7 Saint Lucia 2.35 2023 up 45.9% volatile
8 Barbados 2.17 2023 down 16.4% rising
9 Maldives 1.91 2023 down 1.5% rising
10 Trinidad and Tobago 1.74 2023 down 3.5% rising
11 French Polynesia 1.6 2023 down 6.2% rising
12 Norway 1.59 2023 up 6.6% rising
13 Samoa 1.41 2023 down 30.5% rising
14 Switzerland 1.34 2023 up 2.0% rising
15 Faroe Islands 1.24 2023 up 14.5% falling
16 New Caledonia 1.18 2023 down 28.8% rising
17 Papua New Guinea 1.15 2023 down 1.2% rising
18 Mauritius 1.08 2023 up 27.7% flat
19 Antigua and Barbuda 1.08 2023 up 1.0% falling
20 Puerto Rico 1.05 2023 down 14.7% rising
21 Equatorial Guinea 1.04 2023 down 8.6% rising
22 Japan 0.9926 2023 up 3.4% rising
23 Cape Verde 0.9671 2023 up 83.5% falling
24 El Salvador 0.921 2023 up 7.2% rising
25 Sierra Leone 0.8698 2023 up 4.6% rising
26 Solomon Islands 0.8616 2023 up 4.2% falling
27 Austria 0.8307 2017 up 10.3% falling
28 Zimbabwe 0.8285 2023 down 36.0% rising
30 Burundi 0.8045 2023 up 21.6% falling
31 Gabon 0.7638 2023 down 17.7% falling
32 Lesotho 0.7618 2023 up 26.0% falling
33 Germany 0.7532 2017 down 4.8% falling
34 Somalia 0.7485 2023 up 10.1% falling
35 Panama 0.736 2023 down 17.2% rising
36 Taiwan 0.7349 2023 up 11.2% falling
37 Poland 0.7275 2017 down 19.2% falling
38 Haiti 0.722 2023 up 10.1% falling
39 Jamaica 0.7152 2023 down 5.9% falling
40 Bahrain 0.702 2023 down 15.6% falling
41 Suriname 0.7008 2023 up 28.7% flat
42 Fiji 0.6696 2023 down 8.1% flat
43 Bulgaria 0.6683 2017 down 44.3% rising
44 Grenada 0.6503 2023 down 4.9% falling
45 Singapore 0.6344 2023 up 18.0% volatile
46 Mozambique 0.618 2023 down 30.6% falling
47 Finland 0.616 2017 up 15.0% falling
48 Qatar 0.6114 2023 down 26.5% volatile
49 Iceland 0.6013 2023 down 34.0% falling
50 France 0.6004 2017 down 8.7% falling
51 East Timor 0.597 2023 down 9.6% falling
52 Uganda 0.5895 2023 down 38.6% falling
53 Vanuatu 0.5845 2023 down 41.6% falling
54 Sweden 0.575 2017 down 20.6% falling
55 Democratic Republic of Congo 0.5521 2023 down 2.5% falling
56 Rwanda 0.5486 2023 down 7.1% falling
57 Dominica 0.5457 2023 down 1.7% falling
58 Argentina 0.5376 2023 up 17.7% falling
59 Bolivia 0.5273 2023 down 8.6% falling
60 Paraguay 0.5231 2023 up 7.2% falling
61 Sri Lanka 0.5192 2023 up 9.5% falling
62 United Kingdom 0.5175 2023 down 2.0% falling
63 Belize 0.5137 2023 up 60.8% falling
64 Hungary 0.5067 2017 down 28.0% falling
65 Italy 0.5062 2017 up 5.5% falling
66 Cyprus 0.4981 2017 up 20.2% volatile
67 Bhutan 0.4965 2023 up 34.2% falling
68 Brunei 0.4963 2023 down 2.0% falling
69 North Korea 0.4962 2023 up 10.2% falling
70 Madagascar 0.4929 2023 down 15.9% falling
71 Guinea-Bissau 0.4868 2023 up 24.8% falling
72 Liberia 0.4759 2023 down 23.1% falling
73 Netherlands 0.4718 2017 down 15.4% falling
75 Greece 0.4609 2017 down 19.0% falling
76 Hong Kong 0.4524 2023 down 33.8% falling
77 Romania 0.4411 2017 down 53.1% falling
78 Chad 0.4339 2023 up 4.5% falling
79 Seychelles 0.4301 2023 down 12.4% volatile
80 Denmark 0.4247 2017 down 17.7% falling
81 Iraq 0.4155 2023 up 57.8% falling
82 Benin 0.409 2023 down 3.5% falling
83 Guyana 0.3978 2023 down 29.0% falling
84 Mali 0.3931 2023 down 19.4% falling
85 Ghana 0.3818 2023 down 23.4% falling
86 Kiribati 0.3788 2023 down 3.8% falling
87 Niue 0.3769 2023 down 9.1% falling
88 South Korea 0.3518 2023 up 8.2% falling
89 Botswana 0.3512 2023 down 46.4% falling
90 Spain 0.3471 2017 down 6.5% falling
91 Portugal 0.3471 2017 down 40.7% falling
92 Tanzania 0.3437 2023 down 2.5% falling
93 Congo 0.3344 2023 down 12.1% falling
94 Afghanistan 0.3342 2023 down 28.9% falling
95 Australia 0.3331 2023 down 20.9% falling
96 Senegal 0.3294 2023 down 56.6% falling
97 Togo 0.328 2023 down 30.3% falling
98 Nicaragua 0.314 2023 down 17.6% falling
99 Dominican Republic 0.3111 2023 down 37.4% falling
100 United States 0.3106 2023 down 9.2% falling
101 Cote d'Ivoire 0.308 2023 down 13.2% falling
102 Comoros 0.3043 2023 down 10.8% falling
103 Brazil 0.3019 2023 down 23.3% falling
104 Venezuela 0.2979 2014 down 12.5% falling
105 Angola 0.2966 2023 down 7.9% volatile
106 Peru 0.2962 2023 down 22.8% falling
107 Jordan 0.2937 2023 down 24.1% volatile
108 Israel 0.2907 2023 up 4.1% falling
109 Philippines 0.2893 2023 down 4.2% falling
110 Mauritania 0.2863 2023 down 39.6% falling
111 Bahamas 0.2849 2023 down 7.7% falling
112 Eswatini 0.2742 2023 down 1.0% falling
113 Namibia 0.2735 2023 down 18.8% falling
114 Algeria 0.2733 2023 down 19.4% falling
115 South Africa 0.2729 2023 down 20.7% falling
116 Lebanon 0.2713 2023 down 8.5% volatile
117 Albania 0.2684 2023 down 22.5% falling
118 Thailand 0.2634 2023 down 7.0% falling
119 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 0.2626 2023 up 11.5% volatile
120 Mongolia 0.2609 2023 down 32.6% falling
121 Guinea 0.2554 2023 down 40.2% falling
122 Oman 0.2529 2023 up 8.2% volatile
123 Nigeria 0.2491 2023 down 29.0% falling
124 Saudi Arabia 0.2389 2023 down 43.3% falling
125 Uruguay 0.2207 2023 up 15.3% volatile
126 Cambodia 0.2201 2023 down 31.7% falling
127 Ecuador 0.2173 2023 down 31.2% falling
128 Malawi 0.2143 2023 down 24.0% falling
129 New Zealand 0.2072 2023 down 21.0% volatile
130 Myanmar 0.2065 2023 up 9.1% volatile
131 Yemen 0.2044 2023 down 7.5% falling
132 Turkey 0.2017 2023 down 19.3% falling
133 Mexico 0.2013 2023 down 30.1% falling
134 Bangladesh 0.1988 2023 down 21.2% falling
135 Egypt 0.1982 2023 down 9.1% falling
136 Colombia 0.1938 2023 up 44.5% volatile
137 Indonesia 0.1935 2023 down 11.0% volatile
138 India 0.19 2023 down 24.0% falling
139 Burkina Faso 0.186 2023 down 15.8% falling
140 Morocco 0.1856 2023 down 9.3% falling
141 Kenya 0.183 2023 down 20.8% volatile
142 Central African Republic 0.1806 2023 down 58.6% falling
143 Honduras 0.1806 2023 down 8.6% falling
144 Canada 0.1804 2023 up 2.7% falling
145 Malaysia 0.1788 2023 down 2.0% volatile
146 Syria 0.1756 2023 down 8.0% volatile
147 Tunisia 0.1748 2023 down 11.4% volatile
148 Zambia 0.1735 2023 down 34.2% volatile
149 Cameroon 0.1713 2023 down 16.6% falling
150 Nepal 0.1709 2023 down 29.3% volatile
151 Guatemala 0.1687 2023 up 8.8% volatile
152 United Arab Emirates 0.1609 2023 down 11.2% volatile
153 Vietnam 0.1592 2023 down 8.9% volatile
154 Iran 0.1471 2023 up 14.7% volatile
155 Pakistan 0.1437 2023 down 20.8% volatile
156 Libya 0.1422 2023 up 0.1% volatile
157 Niger 0.1361 2023 down 41.7% falling
158 China 0.1335 2023 down 20.9% volatile
159 Laos 0.1071 2023 down 51.5% volatile
160 Chile 0.0922 2023 down 12.8% volatile
161 Costa Rica 0.0815 2023 down 30.4% volatile
162 Kuwait 0.0671 2023 down 3.4% volatile
163 Djibouti 0.0496 2023 up 15.0% volatile

About this data

Indicator
Arable land needed to produce a fixed quantity of crops
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025); Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
163 places, 10,097 data points, 1961–2023
Last refreshed

Index of arable land needed to produce a fixed quantity of crops (where values in 1961 are equal to 1.0).