Arable land use per person in United States
United States: Arable land use per person was 0.4501 hectares per person in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
0.4501 hectares per person
Change on year
down 0.8%
World rank
17th
of 206 countries
All-time high
0.9833 hectares per person
in 1961
All-time low
0.4501 hectares per person
in 2023
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Arable land use per person in United States, 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
United States recorded 0.4501 hectares per person for arable land use per person in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.8% on the previous year and down 8.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land use per person in United States peaked at 0.9833 hectares per person in 1961 and was at its lowest, 0.4501 hectares per person, in 2023.
That places United States 17th 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.
Arable land use per person in United States, year by year
| Year | hectares per person | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.9833 hectares per person | — |
| 1962 | 0.9494 hectares per person | -3.5% |
| 1963 | 0.9489 hectares per person | -0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.9274 hectares per person | -2.3% |
| 1965 | 0.9109 hectares per person | -1.8% |
| 1966 | 0.8939 hectares per person | -1.9% |
| 1967 | 0.8781 hectares per person | -1.8% |
| 1968 | 0.9018 hectares per person | +2.7% |
| 1969 | 0.9337 hectares per person | +3.5% |
| 1970 | 0.9204 hectares per person | -1.4% |
| 1971 | 0.906 hectares per person | -1.6% |
| 1972 | 0.8935 hectares per person | -1.4% |
| 1973 | 0.8827 hectares per person | -1.2% |
| 1974 | 0.872 hectares per person | -1.2% |
| 1975 | 0.8634 hectares per person | -1.0% |
| 1976 | 0.8552 hectares per person | -0.9% |
| 1977 | 0.847 hectares per person | -1.0% |
| 1978 | 0.848 hectares per person | +0.1% |
| 1979 | 0.8387 hectares per person | -1.1% |
| 1980 | 0.8307 hectares per person | -1.0% |
| 1981 | 0.8226 hectares per person | -1.0% |
| 1982 | 0.8105 hectares per person | -1.5% |
| 1983 | 0.8031 hectares per person | -0.9% |
| 1984 | 0.7962 hectares per person | -0.9% |
| 1985 | 0.7892 hectares per person | -0.9% |
| 1986 | 0.7819 hectares per person | -0.9% |
| 1987 | 0.7666 hectares per person | -2.0% |
| 1988 | 0.7597 hectares per person | -0.9% |
| 1989 | 0.7524 hectares per person | -1.0% |
| 1990 | 0.7437 hectares per person | -1.1% |
| 1991 | 0.7337 hectares per person | -1.4% |
| 1992 | 0.7172 hectares per person | -2.3% |
| 1993 | 0.7028 hectares per person | -2.0% |
| 1994 | 0.691 hectares per person | -1.7% |
| 1995 | 0.6827 hectares per person | -1.2% |
| 1996 | 0.6641 hectares per person | -2.7% |
| 1997 | 0.6515 hectares per person | -1.9% |
| 1998 | 0.6409 hectares per person | -1.6% |
| 1999 | 0.629 hectares per person | -1.8% |
| 2000 | 0.6219 hectares per person | -1.1% |
| 2001 | 0.6157 hectares per person | -1.0% |
| 2002 | 0.6014 hectares per person | -2.3% |
| 2003 | 0.5885 hectares per person | -2.1% |
| 2004 | 0.5755 hectares per person | -2.2% |
| 2005 | 0.5627 hectares per person | -2.2% |
| 2006 | 0.55 hectares per person | -2.2% |
| 2007 | 0.5371 hectares per person | -2.4% |
| 2008 | 0.5276 hectares per person | -1.8% |
| 2009 | 0.5184 hectares per person | -1.7% |
| 2010 | 0.5096 hectares per person | -1.7% |
| 2011 | 0.5012 hectares per person | -1.6% |
| 2012 | 0.4928 hectares per person | -1.7% |
| 2013 | 0.4907 hectares per person | -0.4% |
| 2014 | 0.4885 hectares per person | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 0.4862 hectares per person | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 0.4838 hectares per person | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 0.482 hectares per person | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 0.4758 hectares per person | -1.3% |
| 2019 | 0.4697 hectares per person | -1.3% |
| 2020 | 0.4642 hectares per person | -1.2% |
| 2021 | 0.4598 hectares per person | -0.9% |
| 2022 | 0.4538 hectares per person | -1.3% |
| 2023 | 0.4501 hectares per person | -0.8% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 0.4501 hectares per person is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.0728 hectares per person, 6.2× the median. (77 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.9253 hectares per person | 0.8781 hectares per person | 0.9833 hectares per person | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.8727 hectares per person | 0.8387 hectares per person | 0.9204 hectares per person | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.7913 hectares per person | 0.7524 hectares per person | 0.8307 hectares per person | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.6857 hectares per person | 0.629 hectares per person | 0.7437 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.5699 hectares per person | 0.5184 hectares per person | 0.6219 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.488 hectares per person | 0.4697 hectares per person | 0.5096 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.457 hectares per person | 0.4501 hectares per person | 0.4642 hectares per person | 4 |
Countries ranked near United States
More environment data for United States
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -2.64 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -2.16 Percentage change (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.3672 % 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 -0.624 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), annual 0.1269 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per unit of 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is arable land use per person in United States?
- Arable land use per person in United States was 0.4501 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 United States?
- The highest recorded value was 0.9833 hectares per person in 1961.
- What is the lowest arable land use per person recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4501 hectares per person in 2023.
- How does United States rank for arable land use per person?
- United States ranks 17th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is arable land use per person rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United States 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.