Arable land — Area in Australia

Australia: Arable land — Area was 31,265 1000 ha in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
31,265 1000 ha
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
15th
of 248 countries
All-time high
31,960 1000 ha
in 2014
All-time low
13,573 1000 ha
in 1975
Years of data
64
1961–2024

Arable land — Area in Australia, 1961–2024

010.0k20.0k30.0k196119922024

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.

Analysis

Australia recorded 31,265 1000 ha for arable land — area in 2024.

That represents a change of down 2.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, arable land — area in Australia peaked at 31,960 1000 ha in 2014 and was at its lowest, 13,573 1000 ha, in 1975.

That places Australia 15th out of 248 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.

Arable land — Area in Australia, year by year

Annual values for Arable land — Area in Australia, 1961 to 2024.
Year 1000 ha Change
1961 14,379 1000 ha —
1962 15,516 1000 ha +7.9%
1963 15,384 1000 ha -0.9%
1964 16,296 1000 ha +5.9%
1965 17,328 1000 ha +6.3%
1966 18,785 1000 ha +8.4%
1967 19,274 1000 ha +2.6%
1968 21,412 1000 ha +11.1%
1969 19,636 1000 ha -8.3%
1970 18,494 1000 ha -5.8%
1971 16,857 1000 ha -8.9%
1972 17,047 1000 ha +1.1%
1973 14,924 1000 ha -12.5%
1974 14,778 1000 ha -1.0%
1975 13,573 1000 ha -8.2%
1976 14,472 1000 ha +6.6%
1977 14,843 1000 ha +2.6%
1978 16,635 1000 ha +12.1%
1979 17,270 1000 ha +3.8%
1980 17,786 1000 ha +3.0%
1981 18,226 1000 ha +2.5%
1982 19,443 1000 ha +6.7%
1983 19,249 1000 ha -1.0%
1984 21,739 1000 ha +12.9%
1985 20,963 1000 ha -3.6%
1986 20,677 1000 ha -1.4%
1987 19,600 1000 ha -5.2%
1988 18,136 1000 ha -7.5%
1989 17,527 1000 ha -3.4%
1990 16,956 1000 ha -3.3%
1991 17,208 1000 ha +1.5%
1992 16,226 1000 ha -5.7%
1993 17,111 1000 ha +5.5%
1994 17,843 1000 ha +4.3%
1995 16,837 1000 ha -5.6%
1996 19,193 1000 ha +14.0%
1997 20,904 1000 ha +8.9%
1998 21,350 1000 ha +2.1%
1999 22,994 1000 ha +7.7%
2000 23,473 1000 ha +2.1%
2001 24,217 1000 ha +3.2%
2002 23,750 1000 ha -1.9%
2003 23,258 1000 ha -2.1%
2004 25,757 1000 ha +10.7%
2005 26,412 1000 ha +2.5%
2006 24,228 1000 ha -8.3%
2007 23,125 1000 ha -4.6%
2008 23,994 1000 ha +3.8%
2009 27,142 1000 ha +13.1%
2010 25,592 1000 ha -5.7%
2011 31,695 1000 ha +23.8%
2012 31,637 1000 ha -0.2%
2013 31,221 1000 ha -1.3%
2014 31,960 1000 ha +2.4%
2015 31,091 1000 ha -2.7%
2016 30,057 1000 ha -3.3%
2017 30,752 1000 ha +2.3%
2018 30,974 1000 ha +0.7%
2019 30,573 1000 ha -1.3%
2020 30,644 1000 ha +0.2%
2021 31,265 1000 ha +2.0%
2022 31,265 1000 ha +0.0%
2023 31,265 1000 ha +0.0%
2024 31,265 1000 ha +0.0%

Australia compared with similar countries

  • Australia's 31,265 1000 ha is above the median for high income countries, which is 172.25 1000 ha, 181.5× the median. (74 countries reporting)
  • Australia's 31,265 1000 ha is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 94.15 1000 ha, 332.1× the median. (30 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 17,556 1000 ha 14,379 1000 ha 21,412 1000 ha 9
1970s 15,889 1000 ha 13,573 1000 ha 18,494 1000 ha 10
1980s 19,335 1000 ha 17,527 1000 ha 21,739 1000 ha 10
1990s 18,662 1000 ha 16,226 1000 ha 22,994 1000 ha 10
2000s 24,536 1000 ha 23,125 1000 ha 27,142 1000 ha 10
2010s 30,555 1000 ha 25,592 1000 ha 31,960 1000 ha 10
2020s 31,141 1000 ha 30,644 1000 ha 31,265 1000 ha 5

Countries ranked near Australia

  1. 12 Nigeria 37,184 1000 ha compare
  2. 13 Ukraine 32,924 1000 ha compare
  3. 14 Australia and New Zealand 31,787 1000 ha compare
  4. 16 Pakistan 30,690 1000 ha compare
  5. 17 Kazakhstan 30,544 1000 ha compare
  6. 18 Sudan 20,995 1000 ha compare

See the full ranking of 281 places →

More environment data for Australia

All data for Australia →

Frequently asked questions

What is arable land — area in Australia?
Arable land — area in Australia was 31,265 1000 ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest arable land — area recorded in Australia?
The highest recorded value was 31,960 1000 ha in 2014.
What is the lowest arable land — area recorded in Australia?
The lowest recorded value was 13,573 1000 ha in 1975.
How does Australia rank for arable land — area?
Australia ranks 15th out of 248 countries with data for 2024.
Is arable land — area rising or falling in Australia?
Over the last ten years it is down 2.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Australia data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Arable land — Area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Arable land — Area in Australia. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 26 September 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/arable-land-area/australia/

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About this data

Indicator
Arable land — Area
Unit
1000 ha
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
281 places, 16,508 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.