Cropland — Area per capita in Australia
Australia: Cropland — Area per capita was 1.18 ha/cap in 2024. ▼ Falling
Cropland — Area per capita in Australia, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in ha/cap.
Analysis
The most recent figure for cropland — area per capita in Australia is 1.18 ha/cap, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of down 1.7% on the previous year and down 13.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, cropland — area per capita in Australia peaked at 1.8 ha/cap in 1968 and was at its lowest, 0.93 ha/cap, in 1992.
That places Australia 3rd out of 250 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
Cropland — Area per capita in Australia, year by year
| Year | ha/cap | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1.39 ha/cap | — |
| 1962 | 1.47 ha/cap | +5.8% |
| 1963 | 1.43 ha/cap | -2.7% |
| 1964 | 1.48 ha/cap | +3.5% |
| 1965 | 1.54 ha/cap | +4.1% |
| 1966 | 1.64 ha/cap | +6.5% |
| 1967 | 1.65 ha/cap | +0.6% |
| 1968 | 1.8 ha/cap | +9.1% |
| 1969 | 1.62 ha/cap | -10.0% |
| 1970 | 1.48 ha/cap | -8.6% |
| 1971 | 1.31 ha/cap | -11.5% |
| 1972 | 1.3 ha/cap | -0.8% |
| 1973 | 1.12 ha/cap | -13.8% |
| 1974 | 1.09 ha/cap | -2.7% |
| 1975 | 0.99 ha/cap | -9.2% |
| 1976 | 1.04 ha/cap | +5.1% |
| 1977 | 1.06 ha/cap | +1.9% |
| 1978 | 1.17 ha/cap | +10.4% |
| 1979 | 1.2 ha/cap | +2.6% |
| 1980 | 1.22 ha/cap | +1.7% |
| 1981 | 1.23 ha/cap | +0.8% |
| 1982 | 1.29 ha/cap | +4.9% |
| 1983 | 1.26 ha/cap | -2.3% |
| 1984 | 1.4 ha/cap | +11.1% |
| 1985 | 1.33 ha/cap | -5.0% |
| 1986 | 1.3 ha/cap | -2.3% |
| 1987 | 1.21 ha/cap | -6.9% |
| 1988 | 1.11 ha/cap | -8.3% |
| 1989 | 1.05 ha/cap | -5.4% |
| 1990 | 1 ha/cap | -4.8% |
| 1991 | 1 ha/cap | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 0.93 ha/cap | -7.0% |
| 1993 | 0.98 ha/cap | +5.4% |
| 1994 | 1.01 ha/cap | +3.1% |
| 1995 | 0.94 ha/cap | -6.9% |
| 1996 | 1.06 ha/cap | +12.8% |
| 1997 | 1.14 ha/cap | +7.5% |
| 1998 | 1.15 ha/cap | +0.9% |
| 1999 | 1.23 ha/cap | +7.0% |
| 2000 | 1.24 ha/cap | +0.8% |
| 2001 | 1.27 ha/cap | +2.4% |
| 2002 | 1.23 ha/cap | -3.1% |
| 2003 | 1.19 ha/cap | -3.3% |
| 2004 | 1.3 ha/cap | +9.2% |
| 2005 | 1.32 ha/cap | +1.5% |
| 2006 | 1.19 ha/cap | -9.8% |
| 2007 | 1.12 ha/cap | -5.9% |
| 2008 | 1.14 ha/cap | +1.8% |
| 2009 | 1.26 ha/cap | +10.5% |
| 2010 | 1.17 ha/cap | -7.1% |
| 2011 | 1.43 ha/cap | +22.2% |
| 2012 | 1.4 ha/cap | -2.1% |
| 2013 | 1.36 ha/cap | -2.9% |
| 2014 | 1.37 ha/cap | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 1.31 ha/cap | -4.4% |
| 2016 | 1.25 ha/cap | -4.6% |
| 2017 | 1.26 ha/cap | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 1.25 ha/cap | -0.8% |
| 2019 | 1.21 ha/cap | -3.2% |
| 2020 | 1.2 ha/cap | -0.8% |
| 2021 | 1.22 ha/cap | +1.7% |
| 2022 | 1.21 ha/cap | -0.8% |
| 2023 | 1.2 ha/cap | -0.8% |
| 2024 | 1.18 ha/cap | -1.7% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 1.18 ha/cap is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.1 ha/cap, 11.8× the median. (75 countries reporting)
- Australia's 1.18 ha/cap is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.135 ha/cap, 8.7× the median. (32 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.56 ha/cap | 1.39 ha/cap | 1.8 ha/cap | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.18 ha/cap | 0.99 ha/cap | 1.48 ha/cap | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.24 ha/cap | 1.05 ha/cap | 1.4 ha/cap | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.04 ha/cap | 0.93 ha/cap | 1.23 ha/cap | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.23 ha/cap | 1.12 ha/cap | 1.32 ha/cap | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.3 ha/cap | 1.17 ha/cap | 1.43 ha/cap | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.2 ha/cap | 1.18 ha/cap | 1.22 ha/cap | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 1 Niue 2.09 ha/cap compare
- 2 Kazakhstan 1.49 ha/cap compare
- 4 Argentina 1.07 ha/cap compare
- 5 Australia and New Zealand 1.01 ha/cap compare
- 6 Canada 0.96 ha/cap compare
More environment data for Australia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.75 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.98 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.345 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.4 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate -1.03 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.6708 % 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 0.0861 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is cropland — area per capita in Australia?
- Cropland — area per capita in Australia was 1.18 ha/cap in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest cropland — area per capita recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 1.8 ha/cap in 1968.
- What is the lowest cropland — area per capita recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.93 ha/cap in 1992.
- How does Australia rank for cropland — area per capita?
- Australia ranks 3rd out of 250 countries with data for 2024.
- Is cropland — area per capita 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, published as part of Cropland — Area per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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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.