Arable land use per person in Belgium
Belgium: Arable land use per person was 0.0733 hectares per person in 2023. ▼ Falling
Arable land use per person in Belgium, 2000–2023
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
Belgium recorded 0.0733 hectares per person for arable land use per person in 2023.
That represents a change of down 0.9% on the previous year and up 0.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land use per person in Belgium peaked at 0.0841 hectares per person in 2000 and was at its lowest, 0.0723 hectares per person, in 2012.
Belgium ranks 135th of 206 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Arable land use per person in Belgium, year by year
| Year | hectares per person | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 0.0841 hectares per person | — |
| 2001 | 0.0821 hectares per person | -2.3% |
| 2002 | 0.0805 hectares per person | -2.0% |
| 2003 | 0.0805 hectares per person | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 0.0806 hectares per person | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 0.0804 hectares per person | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 0.0798 hectares per person | -0.8% |
| 2007 | 0.079 hectares per person | -1.1% |
| 2008 | 0.0788 hectares per person | -0.2% |
| 2009 | 0.0778 hectares per person | -1.3% |
| 2010 | 0.0765 hectares per person | -1.6% |
| 2011 | 0.0747 hectares per person | -2.4% |
| 2012 | 0.0723 hectares per person | -3.3% |
| 2013 | 0.0731 hectares per person | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 0.0729 hectares per person | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 0.0736 hectares per person | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 0.075 hectares per person | +1.9% |
| 2017 | 0.0735 hectares per person | -2.0% |
| 2018 | 0.0744 hectares per person | +1.2% |
| 2019 | 0.0746 hectares per person | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 0.075 hectares per person | +0.5% |
| 2021 | 0.0747 hectares per person | -0.3% |
| 2022 | 0.0739 hectares per person | -1.0% |
| 2023 | 0.0733 hectares per person | -0.9% |
Belgium compared with similar countries
- Belgium's 0.0733 hectares per person is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.0728 hectares per person, 1.0× the median. (77 countries reporting)
- Belgium's 0.0733 hectares per person is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.2161 hectares per person, 34% of the median. (53 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.0804 hectares per person | 0.0778 hectares per person | 0.0841 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.0741 hectares per person | 0.0723 hectares per person | 0.0765 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.0742 hectares per person | 0.0733 hectares per person | 0.075 hectares per person | 4 |
Countries ranked near Belgium
More environment data for Belgium
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -5.46 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -6.46 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.574 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.19 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.5577 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate 0.0605 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is arable land use per person in Belgium?
- Arable land use per person in Belgium was 0.0733 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 Belgium?
- The highest recorded value was 0.0841 hectares per person in 2000.
- What is the lowest arable land use per person recorded in Belgium?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0723 hectares per person in 2012.
- How does Belgium rank for arable land use per person?
- Belgium ranks 135th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is arable land use per person rising or falling in Belgium?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Belgium 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 — 24 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.