Northern Europe vs South Africa: Arable land — Area

Northern Europe
18,979 1000 ha
in 2024
South Africa
12,000 1000 ha
in 2024
Northern Europe rank
30th
South Africa rank
31st

Arable land — Area over time

  • Northern Europe
  • South Africa
05.0k10.0k15.0k20.0k196119922024

How they compare

Northern Europe currently reports 18,979 1000 ha against 12,000 1000 ha in South Africa, a difference of 6,979 1000 ha.

That makes Northern Europe's figure about 1.6 times South Africa's.

Across all 64 years both countries report, Northern Europe has been ahead every year.

Northern Europe ranks 30th and South Africa ranks 31st of 32 groups.

Northern Europe has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Northern Europe South Africa Difference Ahead
1960s 17,485 1000 ha 12,154 1000 ha 5,330 1000 ha Northern Europe
1970s 16,567 1000 ha 12,286 1000 ha 4,281 1000 ha Northern Europe
1980s 16,210 1000 ha 12,455 1000 ha 3,755 1000 ha Northern Europe
1990s 19,184 1000 ha 13,405 1000 ha 5,779 1000 ha Northern Europe
2000s 18,144 1000 ha 13,193 1000 ha 4,950 1000 ha Northern Europe
2010s 18,833 1000 ha 12,057 1000 ha 6,776 1000 ha Northern Europe
2020s 18,906 1000 ha 12,000 1000 ha 6,906 1000 ha Northern Europe

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher arable land — area, Northern Europe or South Africa?
Northern Europe, at 18,979 1000 ha against 12,000 1000 ha in South Africa as of 2024.
What is the difference in arable land — area between Northern Europe and South Africa?
6,979 1000 ha, with Northern Europe ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Northern Europe and South Africa?
64 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 2024.
How do Northern Europe and South Africa rank globally for arable land — area?
Northern Europe ranks 30th and South Africa ranks 31st of 32 groups.
Where does this data come from?
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as Arable land — Area. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Northern Europe vs South Africa: Arable land — Area. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 27 September 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/compare/arable-land-area/northern-europe/south-africa/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://environment.statizoid.com/compare/arable-land-area/northern-europe/south-africa/">Northern Europe vs South Africa: Arable land — Area</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Arable land — Area
Unit
1000 ha
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
281 places, 16,508 data points, 1961–2024
Last refreshed

The FAOSTAT Land Use domain contains data on twenty-one land use categories and twenty-three categories of irrigation and agricultural practices. Data are available yearly and by country, regional and global levels. The domain includes Land Use Indicators providing information on the percentage share of agricultural and forest land, and their sub-components, including irrigated areas and areas under organic agriculture, within a country land use matrix. Data are available at country, regional and global level, for the following elements: (in percentage) i) Share in Land area; ii) Share in Agricultural land, iii) Share in Cropland; and iv) Share in Forest land; (in ha/pc) v) Area per capita.