Arable land — Area in Europe

Europe: Arable land — Area was 270,153 1000 ha in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
270,153 1000 ha
Change on year
down 0.1%
Rank
5th
of 32 groups
All-time high
372,389 1000 ha
in 1962
All-time low
270,153 1000 ha
in 2024
Years of data
64
1961–2024

Arable land — Area in Europe, 1961–2024

0100.0k200.0k300.0k400.0k196119922024

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

Analysis

In 2024, arable land — area in Europe stood at 270,153 1000 ha. 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 1.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, arable land — area in Europe peaked at 372,389 1000 ha in 1962 and was at its lowest, 270,153 1000 ha, in 2024.

Europe ranks 5th of 32 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.

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

Arable land — Area in Europe, year by year

Annual values for Arable land — Area in Europe, 1961 to 2024.
Year 1000 ha Change
1961 372,291 1000 ha —
1962 372,389 1000 ha +0.0%
1963 369,832 1000 ha -0.7%
1964 367,592 1000 ha -0.6%
1965 366,180 1000 ha -0.4%
1966 362,353 1000 ha -1.0%
1967 361,422 1000 ha -0.3%
1968 360,194 1000 ha -0.3%
1969 360,164 1000 ha -0.0%
1970 358,368 1000 ha -0.5%
1971 355,785 1000 ha -0.7%
1972 355,171 1000 ha -0.2%
1973 354,189 1000 ha -0.3%
1974 354,772 1000 ha +0.2%
1975 353,859 1000 ha -0.3%
1976 353,666 1000 ha -0.1%
1977 353,746 1000 ha +0.0%
1978 353,362 1000 ha -0.1%
1979 352,473 1000 ha -0.3%
1980 352,339 1000 ha -0.0%
1981 352,400 1000 ha +0.0%
1982 352,488 1000 ha +0.0%
1983 352,060 1000 ha -0.1%
1984 352,553 1000 ha +0.1%
1985 352,731 1000 ha +0.1%
1986 352,970 1000 ha +0.1%
1987 353,258 1000 ha +0.1%
1988 352,176 1000 ha -0.3%
1989 349,560 1000 ha -0.7%
1990 348,259 1000 ha -0.4%
1991 347,330 1000 ha -0.3%
1992 300,916 1000 ha -13.4%
1993 297,706 1000 ha -1.1%
1994 295,861 1000 ha -0.6%
1995 293,479 1000 ha -0.8%
1996 292,352 1000 ha -0.4%
1997 293,685 1000 ha +0.5%
1998 290,917 1000 ha -0.9%
1999 288,789 1000 ha -0.7%
2000 287,095 1000 ha -0.6%
2001 283,470 1000 ha -1.3%
2002 281,444 1000 ha -0.7%
2003 279,576 1000 ha -0.7%
2004 278,908 1000 ha -0.2%
2005 277,986 1000 ha -0.3%
2006 276,681 1000 ha -0.5%
2007 275,145 1000 ha -0.6%
2008 275,919 1000 ha +0.3%
2009 275,708 1000 ha -0.1%
2010 274,684 1000 ha -0.4%
2011 274,450 1000 ha -0.1%
2012 274,597 1000 ha +0.1%
2013 274,275 1000 ha -0.1%
2014 274,172 1000 ha -0.0%
2015 273,702 1000 ha -0.2%
2016 273,339 1000 ha -0.1%
2017 273,445 1000 ha +0.0%
2018 272,842 1000 ha -0.2%
2019 273,315 1000 ha +0.2%
2020 271,516 1000 ha -0.7%
2021 271,575 1000 ha +0.0%
2022 270,671 1000 ha -0.3%
2023 270,524 1000 ha -0.1%
2024 270,153 1000 ha -0.1%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 365,824 1000 ha 360,164 1000 ha 372,389 1000 ha 9
1970s 354,539 1000 ha 352,473 1000 ha 358,368 1000 ha 10
1980s 352,254 1000 ha 349,560 1000 ha 353,258 1000 ha 10
1990s 304,929 1000 ha 288,789 1000 ha 348,259 1000 ha 10
2000s 279,193 1000 ha 275,145 1000 ha 287,095 1000 ha 10
2010s 273,882 1000 ha 272,842 1000 ha 274,684 1000 ha 10
2020s 270,888 1000 ha 270,153 1000 ha 271,575 1000 ha 5

Countries ranked near Europe

  1. 2 USSR 224,400 1000 ha compare
  2. 3 India 153,810 1000 ha compare
  3. 4 United States 151,553 1000 ha compare
  4. 5 Russian Federation 121,649 1000 ha compare
  5. 5 Russia 121,649 1000 ha compare
  6. 7 China 109,061 1000 ha compare
  7. 8 China, mainland 108,466 1000 ha compare

See the full ranking of 281 places →

More environment data for Europe

All data for Europe →

Frequently asked questions

What is arable land — area in Europe?
Arable land — area in Europe was 270,153 1000 ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest arable land — area recorded in Europe?
The highest recorded value was 372,389 1000 ha in 1962.
What is the lowest arable land — area recorded in Europe?
The lowest recorded value was 270,153 1000 ha in 2024.
How does Europe rank for arable land — area?
Europe ranks 5th out of 32 groups with data for 2024.
Is arable land — area rising or falling in Europe?
Over the last ten years it is down 1.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Europe 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 Europe. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 26 September 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/arable-land-area/europe/

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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.