Agricultural land — Share in Land area in Western Europe
Western Europe: Agricultural land — Share in Land area was 48.6 % in 2024. ▼ Falling
Agricultural land — Share in Land area in Western Europe, 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 Western Europe is 48.6 %, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 64 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.1% on the previous year and down 1.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural land — share in land area in Western Europe peaked at 58.8 % in 1961 and was at its lowest, 48.6 %, in 2024.
That places Western Europe 10th out of 31 groups with data for 2024, putting it 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 Western Europe, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 58.8 % | — |
| 1962 | 58.7 % | -0.2% |
| 1963 | 58.52 % | -0.3% |
| 1964 | 58.3 % | -0.4% |
| 1965 | 58.24 % | -0.1% |
| 1966 | 58.03 % | -0.4% |
| 1967 | 57.68 % | -0.6% |
| 1968 | 57.11 % | -1.0% |
| 1969 | 57.07 % | -0.1% |
| 1970 | 56.18 % | -1.6% |
| 1971 | 56.15 % | -0.1% |
| 1972 | 56.01 % | -0.2% |
| 1973 | 55.82 % | -0.3% |
| 1974 | 55.74 % | -0.1% |
| 1975 | 55.6 % | -0.3% |
| 1976 | 55.23 % | -0.7% |
| 1977 | 55.05 % | -0.3% |
| 1978 | 55.05 % | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 54.76 % | -0.5% |
| 1980 | 54.37 % | -0.7% |
| 1981 | 54.28 % | -0.2% |
| 1982 | 54.23 % | -0.1% |
| 1983 | 53.96 % | -0.5% |
| 1984 | 53.87 % | -0.2% |
| 1985 | 53.76 % | -0.2% |
| 1986 | 53.67 % | -0.2% |
| 1987 | 53.53 % | -0.3% |
| 1988 | 53.03 % | -0.9% |
| 1989 | 52.87 % | -0.3% |
| 1990 | 52.67 % | -0.4% |
| 1991 | 51.69 % | -1.9% |
| 1992 | 51.43 % | -0.5% |
| 1993 | 51.54 % | +0.2% |
| 1994 | 51.58 % | +0.1% |
| 1995 | 51.56 % | -0.0% |
| 1996 | 51.49 % | -0.1% |
| 1997 | 51.44 % | -0.1% |
| 1998 | 51.38 % | -0.1% |
| 1999 | 51.18 % | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 50.95 % | -0.4% |
| 2001 | 50.77 % | -0.4% |
| 2002 | 50.62 % | -0.3% |
| 2003 | 50.54 % | -0.2% |
| 2004 | 50.5 % | -0.1% |
| 2005 | 50.42 % | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 50.24 % | -0.4% |
| 2007 | 50.12 % | -0.2% |
| 2008 | 49.99 % | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 49.85 % | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 49.52 % | -0.7% |
| 2011 | 49.44 % | -0.2% |
| 2012 | 49.32 % | -0.2% |
| 2013 | 49.26 % | -0.1% |
| 2014 | 49.26 % | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 49.23 % | -0.1% |
| 2016 | 49.08 % | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 49.05 % | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 48.99 % | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 48.87 % | -0.2% |
| 2020 | 48.67 % | -0.4% |
| 2021 | 48.83 % | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 48.76 % | -0.1% |
| 2023 | 48.67 % | -0.2% |
| 2024 | 48.6 % | -0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 58.05 % | 57.07 % | 58.8 % | 9 |
| 1970s | 55.56 % | 54.76 % | 56.18 % | 10 |
| 1980s | 53.76 % | 52.87 % | 54.37 % | 10 |
| 1990s | 51.6 % | 51.18 % | 52.67 % | 10 |
| 2000s | 50.4 % | 49.85 % | 50.95 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 49.2 % | 48.87 % | 49.52 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 48.71 % | 48.6 % | 48.83 % | 5 |
Countries ranked near Western Europe
More environment data for Western Europe
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -3.94 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -3.1 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.485 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.23 °C (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Total fibre furnish — Production, annual growth rate -4.18 % change on previous year (2024)
- Exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 2.84 Percentage change (2024)
- Newsprint — Import quantity, gaps filled 1.17 million t (2024)
- Newsprint — Import quantity, annual growth rate 9.31 % change on previous year (2024)
- Newsprint — Import value, gaps filled 787,773 1000 USD (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural land — share in land area in Western Europe?
- Agricultural land — share in land area in Western Europe was 48.6 % in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest agricultural land — share in land area recorded in Western Europe?
- The highest recorded value was 58.8 % in 1961.
- What is the lowest agricultural land — share in land area recorded in Western Europe?
- The lowest recorded value was 48.6 % in 2024.
- How does Western Europe rank for agricultural land — share in land area?
- Western Europe ranks 10th out of 31 groups with data for 2024.
- Is agricultural land — share in land area rising or falling in Western Europe?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Western 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.
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.