Arable land use per person in Australia
Australia: Arable land use per person was 1.16 hectares per person in 2023. ▼ Falling
Arable land use per person in Australia, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares per person.
Analysis
Australia recorded 1.16 hectares per person for arable land use per person in 2023.
That represents a change of down 3.3% on the previous year and down 13.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land use per person in Australia peaked at 1.78 hectares per person in 1968 and was at its lowest, 0.9283 hectares per person, in 1992.
That places Australia 2nd out of 206 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.54 hectares per person | 1.37 hectares per person | 1.78 hectares per person | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.17 hectares per person | 0.977 hectares per person | 1.48 hectares per person | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.23 hectares per person | 1.04 hectares per person | 1.4 hectares per person | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.04 hectares per person | 0.9283 hectares per person | 1.22 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.22 hectares per person | 1.11 hectares per person | 1.31 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.29 hectares per person | 1.16 hectares per person | 1.42 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.19 hectares per person | 1.16 hectares per person | 1.22 hectares per person | 4 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More environment data for Australia
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 591.45 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 21.75 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 84.7 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.4769 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 43.21 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.1578 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 144.58 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.104 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.1978 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 15.7 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is arable land use per person in Australia?
- Arable land use per person in Australia was 1.16 hectares per person in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest arable land use per person recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 1.78 hectares per person in 1968.
- What is the lowest arable land use per person recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.9283 hectares per person in 1992.
- How does Australia rank for arable land use per person?
- Australia ranks 2nd out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is arable land use per person rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Arable land use per person. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Arable land is defined by the FAO as land under temporary crops, temporary meadows for mowing or for pasture, land under market or kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow. It is measured in hectares per person.