Agricultural land area — Arable land in Australia
Australia: Agricultural land area — Arable land was 64,949 Hectares in 2020. ▲ Rising
Latest (2020)
64,949 Hectares
Change on year
up 1.5%
World rank
4th
of 42 countries
All-time high
90,460 Hectares
in 2009
All-time low
41,223 Hectares
in 1997
Years of data
36
1985–2020
Agricultural land area — Arable land in Australia, 1985–2020
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Hectares.
Analysis
In 2020, agricultural land area — arable land in Australia stood at 64,949 Hectares.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.5% on the previous year and down 25.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural land area — arable land in Australia peaked at 90,460 Hectares in 2009 and was at its lowest, 41,223 Hectares, in 1997.
Australia ranks 4th of 42 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Agricultural land area — Arable land in Australia, year by year
| Year | Hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 49,715 Hectares | — |
| 1986 | 50,138 Hectares | +0.9% |
| 1987 | 49,330 Hectares | -1.6% |
| 1988 | 49,213 Hectares | -0.2% |
| 1989 | 49,967 Hectares | +1.5% |
| 1990 | 49,948 Hectares | -0.0% |
| 1991 | 47,424 Hectares | -5.1% |
| 1992 | 48,623 Hectares | +2.5% |
| 1993 | 47,388 Hectares | -2.5% |
| 1994 | 48,567 Hectares | +2.5% |
| 1995 | 53,328 Hectares | +9.8% |
| 1996 | 77,115 Hectares | +44.6% |
| 1997 | 41,223 Hectares | -46.5% |
| 1998 | 45,314 Hectares | +9.9% |
| 1999 | 46,740 Hectares | +3.1% |
| 2000 | 48,072 Hectares | +2.9% |
| 2001 | 51,313 Hectares | +6.7% |
| 2002 | 49,181 Hectares | -4.2% |
| 2003 | 59,672 Hectares | +21.3% |
| 2004 | 62,805 Hectares | +5.3% |
| 2005 | 63,493 Hectares | +1.1% |
| 2006 | 58,541 Hectares | -7.8% |
| 2007 | 58,496 Hectares | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 88,928 Hectares | +52.0% |
| 2009 | 90,460 Hectares | +1.7% |
| 2010 | 87,400 Hectares | -3.4% |
| 2011 | 82,850 Hectares | -5.2% |
| 2012 | 78,513 Hectares | -5.2% |
| 2013 | 70,761 Hectares | -9.9% |
| 2014 | 77,046 Hectares | +8.9% |
| 2015 | 64,964 Hectares | -15.7% |
| 2016 | 61,538 Hectares | -5.3% |
| 2017 | 63,376 Hectares | +3.0% |
| 2018 | 64,495 Hectares | +1.8% |
| 2019 | 64,020 Hectares | -0.7% |
| 2020 | 64,949 Hectares | +1.5% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 64,949 Hectares is above the median for high income countries, which is 2,240 Hectares, 29.0× the median. (29 countries reporting)
- Australia's 64,949 Hectares is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 11,686 Hectares, 5.6× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Agricultural land area — Arable land in Australia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | +52.0% | 58,496 Hectares | 88,928 Hectares |
| 1997 | -46.5% | 77,115 Hectares | 41,223 Hectares |
| 1996 | +44.6% | 53,328 Hectares | 77,115 Hectares |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 49,673 Hectares | 49,213 Hectares | 50,138 Hectares | 5 |
| 1990s | 50,567 Hectares | 41,223 Hectares | 77,115 Hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 63,096 Hectares | 48,072 Hectares | 90,460 Hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 71,496 Hectares | 61,538 Hectares | 87,400 Hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 64,949 Hectares | 64,949 Hectares | 64,949 Hectares | 1 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 1 India 153,869 Hectares compare
- 1 United States 154,644 Hectares compare
- 2 Russia 121,649 Hectares compare
- 2 Türkiye 20,201 Hectares compare
- 3 China 109,018 Hectares compare
- 3 Viet Nam 6,728 Hectares compare
- 3 Poland 11,187 Hectares compare
- 4 United Kingdom 6,083 Hectares compare
- 5 Lithuania 2,294 Hectares compare
- 5 Brazil 55,642 Hectares compare
- 6 Argentina 40,387 Hectares compare
- 7 Canada 37,848 Hectares compare
- 7 Latvia 1,356 Hectares compare
More environment data for Australia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.75 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.98 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.345 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.4 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate -1.03 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.6708 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate 0.0861 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural land area — arable land in Australia?
- Agricultural land area — arable land in Australia was 64,949 Hectares in 2020, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
- What is the highest agricultural land area — arable land recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 90,460 Hectares in 2009.
- What is the lowest agricultural land area — arable land recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 41,223 Hectares in 1997.
- How does Australia rank for agricultural land area — arable land?
- Australia ranks 4th out of 42 countries with data for 2020.
- Is agricultural land area — arable land rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 25.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Agricultural land area — Arable land. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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