Agricultural land — Share in Land area in Australia
Australia: Agricultural land — Share in Land area was 47.28 % in 2024. ▼ Falling
Agricultural land — Share in Land area in Australia, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for agricultural land — share in land area in Australia is 47.28 %, measured in 2024.
The figure is down 3.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural land — share in land area in Australia peaked at 66.85 % in 1968 and was at its lowest, 44.54 %, in 2016.
That places Australia 83rd out of 255 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
Agricultural land — Share in Land area in Australia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 61.76 % | — |
| 1962 | 62.04 % | +0.5% |
| 1963 | 62.4 % | +0.6% |
| 1964 | 62.73 % | +0.5% |
| 1965 | 63.3 % | +0.9% |
| 1966 | 63.4 % | +0.2% |
| 1967 | 63.73 % | +0.5% |
| 1968 | 66.85 % | +4.9% |
| 1969 | 66.5 % | -0.5% |
| 1970 | 64.23 % | -3.4% |
| 1971 | 65.02 % | +1.2% |
| 1972 | 65.06 % | +0.1% |
| 1973 | 64.81 % | -0.4% |
| 1974 | 65.13 % | +0.5% |
| 1975 | 65.03 % | -0.2% |
| 1976 | 65.18 % | +0.2% |
| 1977 | 63.98 % | -1.8% |
| 1978 | 64.58 % | +0.9% |
| 1979 | 64.2 % | -0.6% |
| 1980 | 64.52 % | +0.5% |
| 1981 | 64.51 % | -0.0% |
| 1982 | 63.88 % | -1.0% |
| 1983 | 62.97 % | -1.4% |
| 1984 | 63.33 % | +0.6% |
| 1985 | 63.37 % | +0.1% |
| 1986 | 60.99 % | -3.8% |
| 1987 | 61.31 % | +0.5% |
| 1988 | 61.45 % | +0.2% |
| 1989 | 60.8 % | -1.1% |
| 1990 | 60.46 % | -0.6% |
| 1991 | 60.24 % | -0.4% |
| 1992 | 60.66 % | +0.7% |
| 1993 | 59.89 % | -1.3% |
| 1994 | 61.07 % | +2.0% |
| 1995 | 60.32 % | -1.2% |
| 1996 | 60.56 % | +0.4% |
| 1997 | 60.17 % | -0.6% |
| 1998 | 60.38 % | +0.3% |
| 1999 | 59.06 % | -2.2% |
| 2000 | 59.29 % | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 59.32 % | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 58.19 % | -1.9% |
| 2003 | 57.21 % | -1.7% |
| 2004 | 51.4 % | -10.2% |
| 2005 | 53.4 % | +3.9% |
| 2006 | 53.28 % | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 51.85 % | -2.7% |
| 2008 | 50.67 % | -2.3% |
| 2009 | 50.02 % | -1.3% |
| 2010 | 48.99 % | -2.1% |
| 2011 | 51.56 % | +5.2% |
| 2012 | 50.39 % | -2.3% |
| 2013 | 48.39 % | -4.0% |
| 2014 | 48.74 % | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 45.31 % | -7.0% |
| 2016 | 44.54 % | -1.7% |
| 2017 | 48.34 % | +8.5% |
| 2018 | 46.66 % | -3.5% |
| 2019 | 47.12 % | +1.0% |
| 2020 | 46.25 % | -1.8% |
| 2021 | 47.26 % | +2.2% |
| 2022 | 47.26 % | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 47.26 % | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 47.28 % | +0.0% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 47.28 % is above the median for high income countries, which is 23.49 %, 2.0× the median. (76 countries reporting)
- Australia's 47.28 % is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 21.45 %, 2.2× the median. (32 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 63.63 % | 61.76 % | 66.85 % | 9 |
| 1970s | 64.72 % | 63.98 % | 65.18 % | 10 |
| 1980s | 62.71 % | 60.8 % | 64.52 % | 10 |
| 1990s | 60.28 % | 59.06 % | 61.07 % | 10 |
| 2000s | 54.46 % | 50.02 % | 59.32 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 48 % | 44.54 % | 51.56 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 47.06 % | 46.25 % | 47.28 % | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
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 — share in land area in Australia?
- Agricultural land — share in land area in Australia was 47.28 % in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest agricultural land — share in land area recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 66.85 % in 1968.
- What is the lowest agricultural land — share in land area recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 44.54 % in 2016.
- How does Australia rank for agricultural land — share in land area?
- Australia ranks 83rd out of 255 countries with data for 2024.
- Is agricultural land — share in land area rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Agricultural land — Share in 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.