FAO projections of arable land in Spain
Spain: FAO projections of arable land was 16.61 million hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
16.61 million hectares
Change on year
down 1.0%
World rank
24th
of 224 countries
All-time high
21.18 million hectares
in 1971
All-time low
16.61 million hectares
in 2023
Years of data
63
1961–2023
FAO projections of arable land in Spain, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
In 2023, fao projections of arable land in Spain stood at 16.61 million hectares. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.0% on the previous year and down 3.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, fao projections of arable land in Spain peaked at 21.18 million hectares in 1971 and was at its lowest, 16.61 million hectares, in 2023.
That places Spain 24th out of 224 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
FAO projections of arable land in Spain, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 20.73 million hectares | — |
| 1962 | 20.83 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1963 | 20.84 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 20.55 million hectares | -1.4% |
| 1965 | 20.59 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1966 | 20.16 million hectares | -2.1% |
| 1967 | 20.48 million hectares | +1.6% |
| 1968 | 20.36 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 1969 | 20.83 million hectares | +2.3% |
| 1970 | 20.52 million hectares | -1.5% |
| 1971 | 21.18 million hectares | +3.2% |
| 1972 | 21.17 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1973 | 20.98 million hectares | -0.9% |
| 1974 | 20.89 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 1975 | 20.83 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1976 | 20.66 million hectares | -0.8% |
| 1977 | 20.60 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1978 | 20.58 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1979 | 20.53 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1980 | 20.50 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1981 | 20.49 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1982 | 20.49 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 1983 | 20.51 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1984 | 20.51 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 20.42 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 1986 | 20.42 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 20.39 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1988 | 20.37 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1989 | 20.32 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1990 | 20.17 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 1991 | 20.09 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 1992 | 19.95 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 1993 | 19.66 million hectares | -1.5% |
| 1994 | 19.50 million hectares | -0.8% |
| 1995 | 18.75 million hectares | -3.8% |
| 1996 | 19.14 million hectares | +2.1% |
| 1997 | 19.06 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 1998 | 18.52 million hectares | -2.8% |
| 1999 | 18.33 million hectares | -1.0% |
| 2000 | 18.30 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2001 | 18.04 million hectares | -1.4% |
| 2002 | 17.89 million hectares | -0.9% |
| 2003 | 17.98 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 17.96 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2005 | 17.84 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 2006 | 17.58 million hectares | -1.5% |
| 2007 | 17.40 million hectares | -1.0% |
| 2008 | 17.27 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2009 | 17.22 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 17.22 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 16.99 million hectares | -1.3% |
| 2012 | 17.54 million hectares | +3.2% |
| 2013 | 17.13 million hectares | -2.3% |
| 2014 | 17.19 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 17.19 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2016 | 17.03 million hectares | -0.9% |
| 2017 | 16.99 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2018 | 16.77 million hectares | -1.3% |
| 2019 | 16.76 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 16.65 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2021 | 16.61 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 2022 | 16.78 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 2023 | 16.61 million hectares | -1.0% |
Spain compared with similar countries
- Spain's 16.61 million hectares is above the median for high income countries, which is 303,040 hectares, 54.8× the median. (78 countries reporting)
- Spain's 16.61 million hectares is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.39 million hectares, 12.0× the median. (53 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 20.60 million hectares | 20.16 million hectares | 20.84 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 20.79 million hectares | 20.52 million hectares | 21.18 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 20.44 million hectares | 20.32 million hectares | 20.51 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 19.32 million hectares | 18.33 million hectares | 20.17 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 17.75 million hectares | 17.22 million hectares | 18.30 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 17.08 million hectares | 16.76 million hectares | 17.54 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 16.66 million hectares | 16.61 million hectares | 16.78 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Spain
More reference data data for Spain
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.18 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 2.85 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 11.76 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.898 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 11.76 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 10.67 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 6.03 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 11.06 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 52.4 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 4.89 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is fao projections of arable land in Spain?
- Fao projections of arable land in Spain was 16.61 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 Spain?
- The highest recorded value was 21.18 million hectares in 1971.
- What is the lowest fao projections of arable land recorded in Spain?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.61 million hectares in 2023.
- How does Spain rank for fao projections of arable land?
- Spain ranks 24th out of 224 countries with data for 2023.
- Is fao projections of arable land rising or falling in Spain?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Spain 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.