Agricultural land — Share in Land area in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Agricultural land — Share in Land area was 69.21 % in 2024. ▼ Falling
Agricultural land — Share in Land area in United Kingdom, 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 United Kingdom is 69.21 %, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 64 years on record.
The figure is down 1.6% on the previous year and down 2.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural land — share in land area in United Kingdom peaked at 81.84 % in 1961 and was at its lowest, 69.21 %, in 2024.
United Kingdom ranks 29th 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 United Kingdom, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 81.84 % | — |
| 1962 | 81.76 % | -0.1% |
| 1963 | 81.62 % | -0.2% |
| 1964 | 81.44 % | -0.2% |
| 1965 | 80.95 % | -0.6% |
| 1966 | 80.81 % | -0.2% |
| 1967 | 80.83 % | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 80.3 % | -0.7% |
| 1969 | 80.11 % | -0.2% |
| 1970 | 77.91 % | -2.7% |
| 1971 | 77.89 % | -0.0% |
| 1972 | 77.53 % | -0.5% |
| 1973 | 77.28 % | -0.3% |
| 1974 | 77.04 % | -0.3% |
| 1975 | 76.81 % | -0.3% |
| 1976 | 76.75 % | -0.1% |
| 1977 | 76.43 % | -0.4% |
| 1978 | 76.38 % | -0.1% |
| 1979 | 76.27 % | -0.1% |
| 1980 | 76.34 % | +0.1% |
| 1981 | 75.72 % | -0.8% |
| 1982 | 75.56 % | -0.2% |
| 1983 | 75.29 % | -0.4% |
| 1984 | 75.24 % | -0.1% |
| 1985 | 75.1 % | -0.2% |
| 1986 | 74.94 % | -0.2% |
| 1987 | 74.88 % | -0.1% |
| 1988 | 76.15 % | +1.7% |
| 1989 | 75.67 % | -0.6% |
| 1990 | 75.24 % | -0.6% |
| 1991 | 74.99 % | -0.3% |
| 1992 | 74.69 % | -0.4% |
| 1993 | 72.48 % | -3.0% |
| 1994 | 71.96 % | -0.7% |
| 1995 | 71.83 % | -0.2% |
| 1996 | 72.31 % | +0.7% |
| 1997 | 72.69 % | +0.5% |
| 1998 | 72.41 % | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 71.17 % | -1.7% |
| 2000 | 70.12 % | -1.5% |
| 2001 | 70.07 % | -0.1% |
| 2002 | 70.17 % | +0.1% |
| 2003 | 70.09 % | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 70.48 % | +0.6% |
| 2005 | 70.09 % | -0.6% |
| 2006 | 73.73 % | +5.2% |
| 2007 | 72.94 % | -1.1% |
| 2008 | 73.1 % | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 71.61 % | -2.0% |
| 2010 | 71.19 % | -0.6% |
| 2011 | 70.95 % | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 71.02 % | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 71.3 % | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 71.23 % | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 70.84 % | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 71.71 % | +1.2% |
| 2017 | 72.2 % | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 71.72 % | -0.7% |
| 2019 | 72.42 % | +1.0% |
| 2020 | 71.34 % | -1.5% |
| 2021 | 71.16 % | -0.3% |
| 2022 | 71.98 % | +1.2% |
| 2023 | 70.31 % | -2.3% |
| 2024 | 69.21 % | -1.6% |
United Kingdom compared with similar countries
- United Kingdom's 69.21 % is above the median for high income countries, which is 23.49 %, 2.9× the median. (76 countries reporting)
- United Kingdom's 69.21 % is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 43.63 %, 1.6× the median. (53 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 81.07 % | 80.11 % | 81.84 % | 9 |
| 1970s | 77.03 % | 76.27 % | 77.91 % | 10 |
| 1980s | 75.49 % | 74.88 % | 76.34 % | 10 |
| 1990s | 72.98 % | 71.17 % | 75.24 % | 10 |
| 2000s | 71.24 % | 70.07 % | 73.73 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 71.46 % | 70.84 % | 72.42 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 70.8 % | 69.21 % | 71.98 % | 5 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More environment data for United Kingdom
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -3.13 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -7.25 Percentage change (2025)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -0.9496 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e) -2.57 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) (Mt CO2e), annual 0.1556 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural land — share in land area in United Kingdom?
- Agricultural land — share in land area in United Kingdom was 69.21 % in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest agricultural land — share in land area recorded in United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 81.84 % in 1961.
- What is the lowest agricultural land — share in land area recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 69.21 % in 2024.
- How does United Kingdom rank for agricultural land — share in land area?
- United Kingdom ranks 29th out of 255 countries with data for 2024.
- Is agricultural land — share in land area rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United Kingdom 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.