FAO projections of arable land in Australia
Australia: FAO projections of arable land was 31.37 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
31.37 million hectares
Change on year
down 0.9%
World rank
12th
of 224 countries
All-time high
32.31 million hectares
in 2014
All-time low
13.75 million hectares
in 1975
Years of data
63
1961–2023
FAO projections of arable land in Australia, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
The most recent figure for fao projections of arable land in Australia is 31.37 million hectares, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of down 0.9% on the previous year and down 0.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, fao projections of arable land in Australia peaked at 32.31 million hectares in 2014 and was at its lowest, 13.75 million hectares, in 1975.
Australia ranks 12th of 224 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
FAO projections of arable land in Australia, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 14.55 million hectares | — |
| 1962 | 15.69 million hectares | +7.9% |
| 1963 | 15.56 million hectares | -0.8% |
| 1964 | 16.48 million hectares | +5.9% |
| 1965 | 17.51 million hectares | +6.3% |
| 1966 | 18.97 million hectares | +8.3% |
| 1967 | 19.46 million hectares | +2.6% |
| 1968 | 21.60 million hectares | +11.0% |
| 1969 | 19.82 million hectares | -8.2% |
| 1970 | 18.68 million hectares | -5.8% |
| 1971 | 17.05 million hectares | -8.7% |
| 1972 | 17.23 million hectares | +1.1% |
| 1973 | 15.10 million hectares | -12.4% |
| 1974 | 14.96 million hectares | -1.0% |
| 1975 | 13.75 million hectares | -8.1% |
| 1976 | 14.64 million hectares | +6.5% |
| 1977 | 15.01 million hectares | +2.5% |
| 1978 | 16.80 million hectares | +11.9% |
| 1979 | 17.44 million hectares | +3.8% |
| 1980 | 17.95 million hectares | +3.0% |
| 1981 | 18.40 million hectares | +2.5% |
| 1982 | 19.61 million hectares | +6.6% |
| 1983 | 19.42 million hectares | -1.0% |
| 1984 | 21.91 million hectares | +12.8% |
| 1985 | 21.14 million hectares | -3.5% |
| 1986 | 20.85 million hectares | -1.3% |
| 1987 | 19.77 million hectares | -5.2% |
| 1988 | 18.36 million hectares | -7.1% |
| 1989 | 17.70 million hectares | -3.6% |
| 1990 | 17.14 million hectares | -3.2% |
| 1991 | 17.38 million hectares | +1.4% |
| 1992 | 16.40 million hectares | -5.6% |
| 1993 | 17.30 million hectares | +5.4% |
| 1994 | 18.04 million hectares | +4.3% |
| 1995 | 17.04 million hectares | -5.6% |
| 1996 | 19.41 million hectares | +13.9% |
| 1997 | 21.13 million hectares | +8.9% |
| 1998 | 21.59 million hectares | +2.2% |
| 1999 | 23.26 million hectares | +7.7% |
| 2000 | 23.77 million hectares | +2.2% |
| 2001 | 24.52 million hectares | +3.2% |
| 2002 | 24.06 million hectares | -1.9% |
| 2003 | 23.57 million hectares | -2.0% |
| 2004 | 26.08 million hectares | +10.6% |
| 2005 | 26.74 million hectares | +2.5% |
| 2006 | 24.57 million hectares | -8.1% |
| 2007 | 23.53 million hectares | -4.2% |
| 2008 | 24.37 million hectares | +3.6% |
| 2009 | 27.51 million hectares | +12.9% |
| 2010 | 25.97 million hectares | -5.6% |
| 2011 | 32.08 million hectares | +23.5% |
| 2012 | 31.99 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2013 | 31.61 million hectares | -1.2% |
| 2014 | 32.31 million hectares | +2.2% |
| 2015 | 31.40 million hectares | -2.8% |
| 2016 | 30.38 million hectares | -3.2% |
| 2017 | 31.07 million hectares | +2.3% |
| 2018 | 31.31 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 2019 | 30.92 million hectares | -1.2% |
| 2020 | 31.00 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 31.65 million hectares | +2.1% |
| 2022 | 31.65 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 31.37 million hectares | -0.9% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 31.37 million hectares is above the median for high income countries, which is 303,040 hectares, 103.5× the median. (78 countries reporting)
- Australia's 31.37 million hectares is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 141,800 hectares, 221.3× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 17.74 million hectares | 14.55 million hectares | 21.60 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 16.07 million hectares | 13.75 million hectares | 18.68 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 19.51 million hectares | 17.70 million hectares | 21.91 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 18.87 million hectares | 16.40 million hectares | 23.26 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 24.87 million hectares | 23.53 million hectares | 27.51 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 30.90 million hectares | 25.97 million hectares | 32.31 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 31.42 million hectares | 31.00 million hectares | 31.65 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More reference data data for Australia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.21 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 28.02 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 38.41 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 38.41 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 4.07 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 6.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 118.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 170.29 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 13.9 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is fao projections of arable land in Australia?
- Fao projections of arable land in Australia was 31.37 million hectares in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest fao projections of arable land recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 32.31 million hectares in 2014.
- What is the lowest fao projections of arable land recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.75 million hectares in 1975.
- How does Australia rank for fao projections of arable land?
- Australia ranks 12th out of 224 countries with data for 2023.
- Is fao projections of arable land rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of FAO projections of arable land. 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
Land allocated to arable production or permanent crops, measured in hectares. Values from 2030 onwards are FAO's 2018 projections under three different scenarios.