What is agricultural land — area in South America?

Agricultural land — area in South America was 498,002 1000 ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

What is the highest agricultural land — area recorded in South America?

The highest recorded value was 547,120 1000 ha in 1985.

What is the lowest agricultural land — area recorded in South America?

The lowest recorded value was 448,584 1000 ha in 1961.

How does South America rank for agricultural land — area?

South America ranks 12th out of 36 groups with data for 2024.

Is agricultural land — area rising or falling in South America?

Over the last ten years it is down 7.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this South America data come from?

The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Agricultural land — Area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Agricultural land — Area in South America

Name: Agricultural land — Area in South America
Creator: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)

South America: Agricultural land — Area was 498,002 1000 ha in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)

498,002 1000 ha

Change on year

up 0.0%

Rank

12th

of 36 groups

All-time high

547,120 1000 ha

in 1985

All-time low

448,584 1000 ha

in 1961

Years of data

1961–2024

Agricultural land — Area in South America, 1961–2024

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.

Analysis

South America recorded 498,002 1000 ha for agricultural land — area in 2024.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 7.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, agricultural land — area in South America peaked at 547,120 1000 ha in 1985 and was at its lowest, 448,584 1000 ha, in 1961.

That places South America 12th out of 36 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1960s	461,728 1000 ha	448,584 1000 ha	474,057 1000 ha	9
1970s	502,583 1000 ha	478,226 1000 ha	527,867 1000 ha	10
1980s	542,371 1000 ha	533,594 1000 ha	547,120 1000 ha	10
1990s	539,735 1000 ha	537,174 1000 ha	542,897 1000 ha	10
2000s	539,816 1000 ha	537,670 1000 ha	542,528 1000 ha	10
2010s	538,805 1000 ha	524,075 1000 ha	543,026 1000 ha	10
2020s	499,071 1000 ha	492,352 1000 ha	510,710 1000 ha	5

Countries ranked near South America

9 Kazakhstan 213,784 1000 ha compare
10 India 178,220 1000 ha compare
11 Saudi Arabia 175,590 1000 ha compare
12 Sudan (former) 137,246 1000 ha compare
13 Sudan 112,665 1000 ha compare
14 Mongolia 107,246 1000 ha compare
15 Mexico 98,430 1000 ha compare

See the full ranking of 273 places →

More environment data for South America

Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Agricultural Use 9.97 million t (2024)
Nutrient potash K2O (total) — Use per capita 23.13 kg/cap (2024)
Nutrient potash K2O (total) — Use per value of agricultural production 22.86 g/Int$ (2024)
Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Use per capita 22.89 kg/cap (2024)
Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Use per area of cropland 68.69 kg/ha (2024)
Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Import quantity 9.55 million t (2024)
Land area — Area 1.75 million 1000 ha (2024)
Country area — Area 1.78 million 1000 ha (2024)
Nutrient potash K2O (total) — Use per area of cropland 69.43 kg/ha (2024)
Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Export quantity 720,788 t (2024)

All data for South America →

Frequently asked questions

What is agricultural land — area in South America?: Agricultural land — area in South America was 498,002 1000 ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest agricultural land — area recorded in South America?: The highest recorded value was 547,120 1000 ha in 1985.
What is the lowest agricultural land — area recorded in South America?: The lowest recorded value was 448,584 1000 ha in 1961.
How does South America rank for agricultural land — area?: South America ranks 12th out of 36 groups with data for 2024.
Is agricultural land — area rising or falling in South America?: Over the last ten years it is down 7.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this South America data come from?: The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Agricultural land — Area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).

About this data

Indicator: Agricultural land — Area
Unit: 1000 ha
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage: 273 places, 16,066 data points, 1961–2024
Last refreshed: 12 August 2026

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.