Arable land — Share in Agricultural land in Western Europe
Western Europe: Arable land — Share in Agricultural land was 61.47 % in 2024. ▲ Rising
Arable land — Share in Agricultural land in Western Europe, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, arable land — share in agricultural land in Western Europe stood at 61.47 %.
That represents a change of down 0.1% on the previous year and down 3.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land — share in agricultural land in Western Europe peaked at 64.16 % in 2015 and was at its lowest, 54.2 %, in 1971.
That places Western Europe 4th out of 31 groups 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 — Share in Agricultural land in Western Europe, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 56.72 % | — |
| 1962 | 56.59 % | -0.2% |
| 1963 | 56.52 % | -0.1% |
| 1964 | 56.1 % | -0.7% |
| 1965 | 55.67 % | -0.8% |
| 1966 | 55.22 % | -0.8% |
| 1967 | 54.68 % | -1.0% |
| 1968 | 54.36 % | -0.6% |
| 1969 | 54.28 % | -0.1% |
| 1970 | 54.77 % | +0.9% |
| 1971 | 54.2 % | -1.0% |
| 1972 | 54.36 % | +0.3% |
| 1973 | 54.49 % | +0.2% |
| 1974 | 54.93 % | +0.8% |
| 1975 | 55.2 % | +0.5% |
| 1976 | 55.33 % | +0.2% |
| 1977 | 55.75 % | +0.8% |
| 1978 | 55.94 % | +0.3% |
| 1979 | 56.23 % | +0.5% |
| 1980 | 56.41 % | +0.3% |
| 1981 | 56.58 % | +0.3% |
| 1982 | 56.79 % | +0.4% |
| 1983 | 56.91 % | +0.2% |
| 1984 | 57.26 % | +0.6% |
| 1985 | 57.62 % | +0.6% |
| 1986 | 57.88 % | +0.5% |
| 1987 | 58.31 % | +0.7% |
| 1988 | 58.3 % | -0.0% |
| 1989 | 58.32 % | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 58.67 % | +0.6% |
| 1991 | 59.11 % | +0.7% |
| 1992 | 59.39 % | +0.5% |
| 1993 | 59.97 % | +1.0% |
| 1994 | 60.48 % | +0.9% |
| 1995 | 60.59 % | +0.2% |
| 1996 | 60.72 % | +0.2% |
| 1997 | 60.97 % | +0.4% |
| 1998 | 61.13 % | +0.3% |
| 1999 | 61.47 % | +0.6% |
| 2000 | 61.82 % | +0.6% |
| 2001 | 61.96 % | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 62.14 % | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 62.41 % | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 62.69 % | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 62.79 % | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 62.8 % | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 62.85 % | +0.1% |
| 2008 | 63.09 % | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 63.24 % | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 63.48 % | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 63.53 % | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 63.59 % | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 63.84 % | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 63.88 % | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 64.16 % | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 63.94 % | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 64.16 % | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 63.5 % | -1.0% |
| 2019 | 63.27 % | -0.4% |
| 2020 | 61.61 % | -2.6% |
| 2021 | 61.45 % | -0.3% |
| 2022 | 61.47 % | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 61.52 % | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 61.47 % | -0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 55.57 % | 54.28 % | 56.72 % | 9 |
| 1970s | 55.12 % | 54.2 % | 56.23 % | 10 |
| 1980s | 57.44 % | 56.41 % | 58.32 % | 10 |
| 1990s | 60.25 % | 58.67 % | 61.47 % | 10 |
| 2000s | 62.58 % | 61.82 % | 63.24 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 63.73 % | 63.27 % | 64.16 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 61.5 % | 61.45 % | 61.61 % | 5 |
Countries ranked near Western Europe
- 1 Aruba 100 % compare
- 1 Bermuda 100 % compare
- 1 Netherlands Antilles (former) 100 % compare
- 1 Saint Pierre and Miquelon 100 % compare
- 1 Turks and Caicos Islands 100 % compare
- 6 Finland 99.23 % compare
- 7 Denmark 90.36 % compare
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)
- Other paper and paperboard, not elsewhere specified — Import value -2.05 % change on previous year (2024)
- Exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 2.84 Percentage change (2024)
- Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 3.13 Percentage change (2024)
- Other paper and paperboard, not elsewhere specified — Import 11.81 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is arable land — share in agricultural land in Western Europe?
- Arable land — share in agricultural land in Western Europe was 61.47 % in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest arable land — share in agricultural land recorded in Western Europe?
- The highest recorded value was 64.16 % in 2015.
- What is the lowest arable land — share in agricultural land recorded in Western Europe?
- The lowest recorded value was 54.2 % in 1971.
- How does Western Europe rank for arable land — share in agricultural land?
- Western Europe ranks 4th out of 31 groups with data for 2024.
- Is arable land — share in agricultural land rising or falling in Western Europe?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Western Europe data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Arable land — Share in Agricultural land. 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.