Agricultural land — Share in Land area in South America
South America: Agricultural land — Share in Land area was 28.49 % in 2024. ▲ Rising
Agricultural land — Share in Land area in South America, 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 South America is 28.49 %, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of down 8.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural land — share in land area in South America peaked at 31.27 % in 1985 and was at its lowest, 25.64 %, in 1961.
South America ranks 25th of 31 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Agricultural land — Share in Land area in South America, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 25.64 % | — |
| 1962 | 25.85 % | +0.8% |
| 1963 | 26.03 % | +0.7% |
| 1964 | 26.21 % | +0.7% |
| 1965 | 26.41 % | +0.8% |
| 1966 | 26.59 % | +0.7% |
| 1967 | 26.75 % | +0.6% |
| 1968 | 26.96 % | +0.8% |
| 1969 | 27.1 % | +0.5% |
| 1970 | 27.34 % | +0.9% |
| 1971 | 27.7 % | +1.3% |
| 1972 | 27.99 % | +1.0% |
| 1973 | 28.23 % | +0.9% |
| 1974 | 28.52 % | +1.0% |
| 1975 | 28.81 % | +1.0% |
| 1976 | 29.16 % | +1.2% |
| 1977 | 29.52 % | +1.2% |
| 1978 | 29.83 % | +1.1% |
| 1979 | 30.17 % | +1.1% |
| 1980 | 30.5 % | +1.1% |
| 1981 | 30.67 % | +0.6% |
| 1982 | 30.81 % | +0.5% |
| 1983 | 30.95 % | +0.5% |
| 1984 | 31.12 % | +0.5% |
| 1985 | 31.27 % | +0.5% |
| 1986 | 31.26 % | -0.0% |
| 1987 | 31.2 % | -0.2% |
| 1988 | 31.14 % | -0.2% |
| 1989 | 31.09 % | -0.2% |
| 1990 | 31.03 % | -0.2% |
| 1991 | 30.97 % | -0.2% |
| 1992 | 30.89 % | -0.3% |
| 1993 | 30.84 % | -0.2% |
| 1994 | 30.78 % | -0.2% |
| 1995 | 30.71 % | -0.2% |
| 1996 | 30.75 % | +0.1% |
| 1997 | 30.79 % | +0.1% |
| 1998 | 30.91 % | +0.4% |
| 1999 | 30.95 % | +0.1% |
| 2000 | 30.94 % | -0.0% |
| 2001 | 30.78 % | -0.5% |
| 2002 | 30.79 % | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 30.8 % | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 30.89 % | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 30.97 % | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 30.99 % | +0.1% |
| 2007 | 31.06 % | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 30.96 % | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 30.86 % | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 30.99 % | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 30.94 % | -0.2% |
| 2012 | 31 % | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 31.09 % | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 30.98 % | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 30.98 % | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 30.9 % | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 30.83 % | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 30.79 % | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 30.01 % | -2.5% |
| 2020 | 29.22 % | -2.6% |
| 2021 | 28.39 % | -2.8% |
| 2022 | 28.16 % | -0.8% |
| 2023 | 28.48 % | +1.1% |
| 2024 | 28.49 % | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 26.39 % | 25.64 % | 27.1 % | 9 |
| 1970s | 28.73 % | 27.34 % | 30.17 % | 10 |
| 1980s | 31 % | 30.5 % | 31.27 % | 10 |
| 1990s | 30.86 % | 30.71 % | 31.03 % | 10 |
| 2000s | 30.9 % | 30.78 % | 31.06 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 30.85 % | 30.01 % | 31.09 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 28.55 % | 28.16 % | 29.22 % | 5 |
Countries ranked near South America
More environment data for South America
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -6.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.98 Percentage change (2025)
- Temperature change 1.23 °C (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.218 °C (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Total fibre furnish — Production, annual growth rate 4.24 % change on previous year (2024)
- Other paper and paperboard — Import value, annual growth rate 7.63 % change on previous year (2024)
- Graphic papers — Import quantity, annual growth rate 8.6 % change on previous year (2024)
- Graphic papers — Import value, annual growth rate -5.4 % change on previous year (2024)
- Newsprint — Import quantity, gaps filled 107,789 t (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural land — share in land area in South America?
- Agricultural land — share in land area in South America was 28.49 % in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest agricultural land — share in land area recorded in South America?
- The highest recorded value was 31.27 % in 1985.
- What is the lowest agricultural land — share in land area recorded in South America?
- The lowest recorded value was 25.64 % in 1961.
- How does South America rank for agricultural land — share in land area?
- South America ranks 25th out of 31 groups with data for 2024.
- Is agricultural land — share in land area rising or falling in South America?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.0%. 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 — 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.