Agricultural land — Area in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Agricultural land — Area was 16,744 1000 ha in 2024. ▼ Falling
Agricultural land — Area in United Kingdom, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.
Analysis
The most recent figure for agricultural land — area in United Kingdom is 16,744 1000 ha, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 64 years on record.
That represents a change of down 1.6% on the previous year and down 2.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural land — area in United Kingdom peaked at 19,800 1000 ha in 1961 and was at its lowest, 16,744 1000 ha, in 2024.
United Kingdom ranks 64th of 255 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
Agricultural land — Area in United Kingdom, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 19,800 1000 ha | — |
| 1962 | 19,779 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 1963 | 19,747 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 1964 | 19,703 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 1965 | 19,585 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 1966 | 19,550 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 1967 | 19,554 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 19,426 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 1969 | 19,380 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 1970 | 18,849 1000 ha | -2.7% |
| 1971 | 18,843 1000 ha | -0.0% |
| 1972 | 18,756 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 1973 | 18,696 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 1974 | 18,638 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 1975 | 18,583 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 1976 | 18,568 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 1977 | 18,490 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1978 | 18,478 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 1979 | 18,452 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 1980 | 18,469 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 1981 | 18,320 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 1982 | 18,281 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 1983 | 18,216 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1984 | 18,202 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 1985 | 18,168 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 1986 | 18,130 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 1987 | 18,116 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 1988 | 18,423 1000 ha | +1.7% |
| 1989 | 18,306 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 1990 | 18,203 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 1991 | 18,143 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 1992 | 18,070 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1993 | 17,534 1000 ha | -3.0% |
| 1994 | 17,409 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 1995 | 17,379 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 1996 | 17,494 1000 ha | +0.7% |
| 1997 | 17,585 1000 ha | +0.5% |
| 1998 | 17,518 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 17,219 1000 ha | -1.7% |
| 2000 | 16,964 1000 ha | -1.5% |
| 2001 | 16,953 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 2002 | 16,976 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 2003 | 16,956 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 17,051 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 2005 | 16,956 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 2006 | 17,838 1000 ha | +5.2% |
| 2007 | 17,647 1000 ha | -1.1% |
| 2008 | 17,684 1000 ha | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 17,325 1000 ha | -2.0% |
| 2010 | 17,224 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 2011 | 17,164 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 17,182 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 17,250 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 17,232 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 17,138 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 17,350 1000 ha | +1.2% |
| 2017 | 17,466 1000 ha | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 17,351 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2019 | 17,521 1000 ha | +1.0% |
| 2020 | 17,259 1000 ha | -1.5% |
| 2021 | 17,215 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2022 | 17,414 1000 ha | +1.2% |
| 2023 | 17,010 1000 ha | -2.3% |
| 2024 | 16,744 1000 ha | -1.6% |
United Kingdom compared with similar countries
- United Kingdom's 16,744 1000 ha is above the median for high income countries, which is 851 1000 ha, 19.7× the median. (76 countries reporting)
- United Kingdom's 16,744 1000 ha is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 2,605 1000 ha, 6.4× the median. (53 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 19,614 1000 ha | 19,380 1000 ha | 19,800 1000 ha | 9 |
| 1970s | 18,635 1000 ha | 18,452 1000 ha | 18,849 1000 ha | 10 |
| 1980s | 18,263 1000 ha | 18,116 1000 ha | 18,469 1000 ha | 10 |
| 1990s | 17,655 1000 ha | 17,219 1000 ha | 18,203 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 17,235 1000 ha | 16,953 1000 ha | 17,838 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 17,288 1000 ha | 17,138 1000 ha | 17,521 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 17,129 1000 ha | 16,744 1000 ha | 17,414 1000 ha | 5 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More environment data for United Kingdom
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -3.13 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -7.25 Percentage change (2025)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -0.9496 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e) -2.57 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) (Mt CO2e), annual 0.1556 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural land — area in United Kingdom?
- Agricultural land — area in United Kingdom was 16,744 1000 ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest agricultural land — area recorded in United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 19,800 1000 ha in 1961.
- What is the lowest agricultural land — area recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 16,744 1000 ha in 2024.
- How does United Kingdom rank for agricultural land — area?
- United Kingdom ranks 64th out of 255 countries with data for 2024.
- Is agricultural land — area rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United Kingdom 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
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.