Agricultural land — Share in Land area in Iceland
Iceland: Agricultural land — Share in Land area was 16.25 % in 2024. ▼ Falling
Agricultural land — Share in Land area in Iceland, 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 Iceland is 16.25 %, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 64 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 13.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural land — share in land area in Iceland peaked at 21.15 % in 1961 and was at its lowest, 16.25 %, in 2023.
That places Iceland 196th out of 255 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
Agricultural land — Share in Land area in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 21.15 % | — |
| 1962 | 21.15 % | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 21.15 % | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 21.15 % | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 21.15 % | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 21.15 % | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 21.15 % | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 21.15 % | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 21.15 % | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 19.96 % | -5.6% |
| 1971 | 19.86 % | -0.5% |
| 1972 | 19.76 % | -0.5% |
| 1973 | 19.66 % | -0.5% |
| 1974 | 19.55 % | -0.6% |
| 1975 | 19.45 % | -0.5% |
| 1976 | 19.35 % | -0.5% |
| 1977 | 19.26 % | -0.5% |
| 1978 | 19.16 % | -0.5% |
| 1979 | 19.06 % | -0.5% |
| 1980 | 18.95 % | -0.6% |
| 1981 | 18.95 % | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 18.95 % | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 18.95 % | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 18.95 % | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 18.95 % | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 18.95 % | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 18.95 % | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 18.95 % | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 18.95 % | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 18.96 % | +0.1% |
| 1991 | 18.96 % | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 18.96 % | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 18.95 % | -0.1% |
| 1994 | 18.95 % | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 18.94 % | -0.1% |
| 1996 | 18.92 % | -0.1% |
| 1997 | 18.9 % | -0.1% |
| 1998 | 18.86 % | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 18.84 % | -0.1% |
| 2000 | 18.84 % | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 18.84 % | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 18.82 % | -0.1% |
| 2003 | 18.8 % | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 18.79 % | -0.1% |
| 2005 | 18.77 % | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 18.76 % | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 18.74 % | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 18.72 % | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 18.71 % | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 18.69 % | -0.1% |
| 2011 | 18.69 % | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 18.68 % | -0.1% |
| 2013 | 18.68 % | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 18.68 % | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 18.67 % | -0.1% |
| 2016 | 18.67 % | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 18.67 % | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 18.57 % | -0.5% |
| 2019 | 18.57 % | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 18.57 % | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 18.57 % | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 18.57 % | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 16.25 % | -12.5% |
| 2024 | 16.25 % | +0.0% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 16.25 % is below the median for high income countries, which is 23.49 %, 69% of the median. (76 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 16.25 % is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 43.63 %, 37% of the median. (53 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 21.15 % | 21.15 % | 21.15 % | 9 |
| 1970s | 19.51 % | 19.06 % | 19.96 % | 10 |
| 1980s | 18.95 % | 18.95 % | 18.95 % | 10 |
| 1990s | 18.92 % | 18.84 % | 18.96 % | 10 |
| 2000s | 18.78 % | 18.71 % | 18.84 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 18.66 % | 18.57 % | 18.69 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 17.64 % | 16.25 % | 18.57 % | 5 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
More environment data for Iceland
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 3.89 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.587 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.47 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.8549 % 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 -1.93 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural land — share in land area in Iceland?
- Agricultural land — share in land area in Iceland was 16.25 % in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest agricultural land — share in land area recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 21.15 % in 1961.
- What is the lowest agricultural land — share in land area recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.25 % in 2023.
- How does Iceland rank for agricultural land — share in land area?
- Iceland ranks 196th out of 255 countries with data for 2024.
- Is agricultural land — share in land area rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Iceland 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.