Arable land use per person in Iceland
Iceland: Arable land use per person was 0.3137 hectares per person in 2023. ▼ Falling
Arable land use per person in Iceland, 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
The most recent figure for arable land use per person in Iceland is 0.3137 hectares per person, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.9% on the previous year and down 16.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land use per person in Iceland peaked at 0.6703 hectares per person in 1961 and was at its lowest, 0.3137 hectares per person, in 2023.
Iceland ranks 30th of 206 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.6263 hectares per person | 0.5901 hectares per person | 0.6703 hectares per person | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.5835 hectares per person | 0.5769 hectares per person | 0.592 hectares per person | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.5591 hectares per person | 0.5339 hectares per person | 0.583 hectares per person | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.5035 hectares per person | 0.4651 hectares per person | 0.5337 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.4291 hectares per person | 0.3893 hectares per person | 0.4587 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.365 hectares per person | 0.3356 hectares per person | 0.3867 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.3214 hectares per person | 0.3137 hectares per person | 0.3302 hectares per person | 4 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
More environment data for Iceland
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 4.28 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 11.08 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 0.2793 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.0015 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 0 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0001 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 0.4807 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0021 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 0.194 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is arable land use per person in Iceland?
- Arable land use per person in Iceland was 0.3137 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 Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 0.6703 hectares per person in 1961.
- What is the lowest arable land use per person recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3137 hectares per person in 2023.
- How does Iceland rank for arable land use per person?
- Iceland ranks 30th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is arable land use per person rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 16.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Iceland 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.