Agricultural land — Share in Land area in Ireland
Ireland: Agricultural land — Share in Land area was 65.15 % in 2024. ▼ Falling
Agricultural land — Share in Land area in Ireland, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, agricultural land — share in land area in Ireland stood at 65.15 %.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 7.1% on the previous year and up 0.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural land — share in land area in Ireland peaked at 71.59 % in 1980 and was at its lowest, 60.81 %, in 2023.
Ireland ranks 35th 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 — Share in Land area in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 66.16 % | — |
| 1962 | 66.97 % | +1.2% |
| 1963 | 67.02 % | +0.1% |
| 1964 | 67.64 % | +0.9% |
| 1965 | 68.34 % | +1.0% |
| 1966 | 69 % | +1.0% |
| 1967 | 69.42 % | +0.6% |
| 1968 | 69.72 % | +0.4% |
| 1969 | 69.91 % | +0.3% |
| 1970 | 69.59 % | -0.5% |
| 1971 | 70.02 % | +0.6% |
| 1972 | 70.07 % | +0.1% |
| 1973 | 70.29 % | +0.3% |
| 1974 | 70.38 % | +0.1% |
| 1975 | 70.19 % | -0.3% |
| 1976 | 70.43 % | +0.3% |
| 1977 | 70.85 % | +0.6% |
| 1978 | 70.91 % | +0.1% |
| 1979 | 71.07 % | +0.2% |
| 1980 | 71.59 % | +0.7% |
| 1981 | 71.26 % | -0.5% |
| 1982 | 71.06 % | -0.3% |
| 1983 | 70.79 % | -0.4% |
| 1984 | 71.03 % | +0.3% |
| 1985 | 70.89 % | -0.2% |
| 1986 | 70.33 % | -0.8% |
| 1987 | 69.92 % | -0.6% |
| 1988 | 69.68 % | -0.3% |
| 1989 | 67.89 % | -2.6% |
| 1990 | 65.86 % | -3.0% |
| 1991 | 64.52 % | -2.0% |
| 1992 | 64.11 % | -0.6% |
| 1993 | 63.98 % | -0.2% |
| 1994 | 63.78 % | -0.3% |
| 1995 | 63.71 % | -0.1% |
| 1996 | 63.03 % | -1.1% |
| 1997 | 63.23 % | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 63.43 % | +0.3% |
| 1999 | 63.63 % | +0.3% |
| 2000 | 63.81 % | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 64.02 % | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 63.48 % | -0.8% |
| 2003 | 63.43 % | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 62.49 % | -1.5% |
| 2005 | 62.45 % | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 61.84 % | -1.0% |
| 2007 | 62.07 % | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 67.19 % | +8.2% |
| 2009 | 66.68 % | -0.8% |
| 2010 | 66.31 % | -0.6% |
| 2011 | 66.12 % | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 65.8 % | -0.5% |
| 2013 | 64.99 % | -1.2% |
| 2014 | 64.83 % | -0.2% |
| 2015 | 64.31 % | -0.8% |
| 2016 | 64.76 % | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 65.16 % | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 65.55 % | +0.6% |
| 2019 | 65.67 % | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 65.5 % | -0.3% |
| 2021 | 62.96 % | -3.9% |
| 2022 | 63.12 % | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 60.81 % | -3.7% |
| 2024 | 65.15 % | +7.1% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 65.15 % is above the median for high income countries, which is 23.49 %, 2.8× the median. (76 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 65.15 % is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 43.63 %, 1.5× the median. (53 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 68.24 % | 66.16 % | 69.91 % | 9 |
| 1970s | 70.38 % | 69.59 % | 71.07 % | 10 |
| 1980s | 70.44 % | 67.89 % | 71.59 % | 10 |
| 1990s | 63.93 % | 63.03 % | 65.86 % | 10 |
| 2000s | 63.75 % | 61.84 % | 67.19 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 65.35 % | 64.31 % | 66.31 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 63.51 % | 60.81 % | 65.5 % | 5 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
More environment data for Ireland
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 2.51 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 2.17 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.412 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.89 °C (2025)
- Sawnwood, coniferous — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -1.13 % 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural land — share in land area in Ireland?
- Agricultural land — share in land area in Ireland was 65.15 % in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest agricultural land — share in land area recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 71.59 % in 1980.
- What is the lowest agricultural land — share in land area recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 60.81 % in 2023.
- How does Ireland rank for agricultural land — share in land area?
- Ireland ranks 35th out of 255 countries with data for 2024.
- Is agricultural land — share in land area rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ireland 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.