Arable land needed to produce a fixed quantity of crops in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Arable land needed to produce a fixed quantity of crops was 0.5175 in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
0.5175
Change on year
up 7.2%
World rank
62nd
of 163 countries
All-time high
1
in 1961
All-time low
0.4415
in 2015
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Arable land needed to produce a fixed quantity of crops in United Kingdom, 1961–2023
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.
Analysis
The most recent figure for arable land needed to produce a fixed quantity of crops in United Kingdom is 0.5175, measured in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 7.2% on the previous year and down 2.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land needed to produce a fixed quantity of crops in United Kingdom peaked at 1 in 1961 and was at its lowest, 0.4415, in 2015.
United Kingdom ranks 62nd of 163 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Arable land needed to produce a fixed quantity of crops in United Kingdom, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1 | — |
| 1962 | 0.8955 | -10.4% |
| 1963 | 0.8914 | -0.5% |
| 1964 | 0.8384 | -5.9% |
| 1965 | 0.8103 | -3.4% |
| 1966 | 0.8559 | +5.6% |
| 1967 | 0.7953 | -7.1% |
| 1968 | 0.8166 | +2.7% |
| 1969 | 0.8027 | -1.7% |
| 1970 | 0.7595 | -5.4% |
| 1971 | 0.727 | -4.3% |
| 1972 | 0.7565 | +4.1% |
| 1973 | 0.7225 | -4.5% |
| 1974 | 0.6992 | -3.2% |
| 1975 | 0.8369 | +19.7% |
| 1976 | 0.8706 | +4.0% |
| 1977 | 0.6908 | -20.7% |
| 1978 | 0.6647 | -3.8% |
| 1979 | 0.6653 | +0.1% |
| 1980 | 0.6237 | -6.3% |
| 1981 | 0.646 | +3.6% |
| 1982 | 0.5681 | -12.1% |
| 1983 | 0.6068 | +6.8% |
| 1984 | 0.4963 | -18.2% |
| 1985 | 0.5678 | +14.4% |
| 1986 | 0.5363 | -5.5% |
| 1987 | 0.5596 | +4.3% |
| 1988 | 0.5485 | -2.0% |
| 1989 | 0.5288 | -3.6% |
| 1990 | 0.5094 | -3.7% |
| 1991 | 0.5035 | -1.2% |
| 1992 | 0.4843 | -3.8% |
| 1993 | 0.4802 | -0.8% |
| 1994 | 0.4895 | +1.9% |
| 1995 | 0.49 | +0.1% |
| 1996 | 0.4511 | -7.9% |
| 1997 | 0.4769 | +5.7% |
| 1998 | 0.4854 | +1.8% |
| 1999 | 0.4482 | -7.7% |
| 2000 | 0.4509 | +0.6% |
| 2001 | 0.4922 | +9.2% |
| 2002 | 0.447 | -9.2% |
| 2003 | 0.46 | +2.9% |
| 2004 | 0.4643 | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 0.458 | -1.3% |
| 2006 | 0.5031 | +9.9% |
| 2007 | 0.5295 | +5.2% |
| 2008 | 0.453 | -14.4% |
| 2009 | 0.4754 | +4.9% |
| 2010 | 0.4747 | -0.2% |
| 2011 | 0.4607 | -3.0% |
| 2012 | 0.5477 | +18.9% |
| 2013 | 0.5281 | -3.6% |
| 2014 | 0.452 | -14.4% |
| 2015 | 0.4415 | -2.3% |
| 2016 | 0.4898 | +10.9% |
| 2017 | 0.4523 | -7.7% |
| 2018 | 0.4996 | +10.5% |
| 2019 | 0.452 | -9.5% |
| 2020 | 0.5443 | +20.4% |
| 2021 | 0.5059 | -7.1% |
| 2022 | 0.4827 | -4.6% |
| 2023 | 0.5175 | +7.2% |
United Kingdom compared with similar countries
- United Kingdom's 0.5175 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.5062, 1.0× the median. (53 countries reporting)
- United Kingdom's 0.5175 is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.5463, 95% of the median. (24 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.8562 | 0.7953 | 1 | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.7393 | 0.6647 | 0.8706 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.5682 | 0.4963 | 0.646 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.4818 | 0.4482 | 0.5094 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.4733 | 0.447 | 0.5295 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.4798 | 0.4415 | 0.5477 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.5126 | 0.4827 | 0.5443 | 4 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More reference data data for United Kingdom
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.13 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 3.97 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 13.26 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.01 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 13.26 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 10.5 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 6.51 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 15.81 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 59.34 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 5.48 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is arable land needed to produce a fixed quantity of crops in United Kingdom?
- Arable land needed to produce a fixed quantity of crops in United Kingdom was 0.5175 in 2023, according to 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.
- What is the highest arable land needed to produce a fixed quantity of crops recorded in United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 1 in 1961.
- What is the lowest arable land needed to produce a fixed quantity of crops recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4415 in 2015.
- How does United Kingdom rank for arable land needed to produce a fixed quantity of crops?
- United Kingdom ranks 62nd out of 163 countries with data for 2023.
- Is arable land needed to produce a fixed quantity of crops rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United Kingdom data come from?
- The figures come from 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, published as part of Arable land needed to produce a fixed quantity of crops. 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
Index of arable land needed to produce a fixed quantity of crops (where values in 1961 are equal to 1.0).