Agricultural land — Share in Land area in Southern Europe

Southern Europe: Agricultural land — Share in Land area was 42.8 % in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
42.8 %
Change on year
up 0.7%
Rank
17th
of 31 groups
All-time high
63.93 %
in 1961
All-time low
42.52 %
in 2023
Years of data
64
1961–2024

Agricultural land — Share in Land area in Southern Europe, 1961–2024

0204060196119922024

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2024, agricultural land — share in land area in Southern Europe stood at 42.8 %.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.7% on the previous year and down 7.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, agricultural land — share in land area in Southern Europe peaked at 63.93 % in 1961 and was at its lowest, 42.52 %, in 2023.

Southern Europe ranks 17th of 31 groups on this measure, 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 Southern Europe, year by year

Annual values for Agricultural land — Share in Land area in Southern Europe, 1961 to 2024.
Year % Change
1961 63.93 %
1962 63.83 % -0.2%
1963 63.67 % -0.3%
1964 63.32 % -0.5%
1965 63.02 % -0.5%
1966 62.87 % -0.2%
1967 63.03 % +0.3%
1968 62.84 % -0.3%
1969 63.01 % +0.3%
1970 62.66 % -0.6%
1971 61.04 % -2.6%
1972 60.81 % -0.4%
1973 60.49 % -0.5%
1974 60.33 % -0.3%
1975 60.15 % -0.3%
1976 59.79 % -0.6%
1977 59.82 % +0.1%
1978 59.87 % +0.1%
1979 59.77 % -0.2%
1980 59.68 % -0.2%
1981 59.67 % -0.0%
1982 59.59 % -0.1%
1983 59.03 % -0.9%
1984 58.9 % -0.2%
1985 58.81 % -0.2%
1986 58.7 % -0.2%
1987 58.65 % -0.1%
1988 58.5 % -0.3%
1989 58.62 % +0.2%
1990 58.37 % -0.4%
1991 57.56 % -1.4%
1992 56.39 % -2.0%
1993 56.1 % -0.5%
1994 56.07 % -0.1%
1995 55.4 % -1.2%
1996 55.26 % -0.3%
1997 54.9 % -0.7%
1998 54.97 % +0.1%
1999 54.6 % -0.7%
2000 53.64 % -1.8%
2001 53.14 % -0.9%
2002 52.87 % -0.5%
2003 52.42 % -0.9%
2004 52.19 % -0.4%
2005 52.02 % -0.3%
2006 49.92 % -4.0%
2007 49.15 % -1.5%
2008 49.68 % +1.1%
2009 49.01 % -1.3%
2010 48.93 % -0.2%
2011 48.01 % -1.9%
2012 47.75 % -0.5%
2013 47.58 % -0.4%
2014 46.32 % -2.6%
2015 46.19 % -0.3%
2016 45.79 % -0.9%
2017 45.76 % -0.1%
2018 45.3 % -1.0%
2019 46 % +1.5%
2020 45.32 % -1.5%
2021 45.34 % +0.0%
2022 44.92 % -0.9%
2023 42.52 % -5.3%
2024 42.8 % +0.7%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 63.28 % 62.84 % 63.93 % 9
1970s 60.47 % 59.77 % 62.66 % 10
1980s 59.02 % 58.5 % 59.68 % 10
1990s 55.96 % 54.6 % 58.37 % 10
2000s 51.4 % 49.01 % 53.64 % 10
2010s 46.76 % 45.3 % 48.93 % 10
2020s 44.18 % 42.52 % 45.34 % 5

Countries ranked near Southern Europe

  1. 14 Burundi 74.21 % compare
  2. 15 Djibouti 73.53 % compare
  3. 16 Guinea 73.22 % compare
  4. 17 Bangladesh 72.21 % compare
  5. 18 Ukraine 71.3 % compare
  6. 19 Madagascar 70.36 % compare
  7. 20 Somalia 70.34 % compare

See the full ranking of 273 places →

More environment data for Southern Europe

All data for Southern Europe →

Frequently asked questions

What is agricultural land — share in land area in Southern Europe?
Agricultural land — share in land area in Southern Europe was 42.8 % in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest agricultural land — share in land area recorded in Southern Europe?
The highest recorded value was 63.93 % in 1961.
What is the lowest agricultural land — share in land area recorded in Southern Europe?
The lowest recorded value was 42.52 % in 2023.
How does Southern Europe rank for agricultural land — share in land area?
Southern Europe ranks 17th out of 31 groups with data for 2024.
Is agricultural land — share in land area rising or falling in Southern Europe?
Over the last ten years it is down 7.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Southern Europe 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.

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Agricultural land — Share in Land area in Southern Europe. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 27 August 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/agricultural-land-share-in-land-area/southern-europe/

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About this data

Indicator
Agricultural land — Share in Land area
Unit
%
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
273 places, 16,066 data points, 1961–2024
Last refreshed

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.