Cropland — Share in Land area in United States
United States: Cropland — Share in Land area was 16.92 % in 2024. ▼ Falling
Cropland — Share in Land area in United States, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
United States recorded 16.92 % for cropland — share in land area in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 64 years on record.
The figure is down 2.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, cropland — share in land area in United States peaked at 20.86 % in 1969 and was at its lowest, 16.92 %, in 2022.
United States ranks 106th of 252 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
Cropland — Share in Land area in United States, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 19.93 % | — |
| 1962 | 19.54 % | -2.0% |
| 1963 | 19.81 % | +1.4% |
| 1964 | 19.64 % | -0.9% |
| 1965 | 19.53 % | -0.6% |
| 1966 | 19.39 % | -0.7% |
| 1967 | 19.25 % | -0.7% |
| 1968 | 19.96 % | +3.7% |
| 1969 | 20.86 % | +4.5% |
| 1970 | 20.8 % | -0.3% |
| 1971 | 20.73 % | -0.3% |
| 1972 | 20.67 % | -0.3% |
| 1973 | 20.61 % | -0.3% |
| 1974 | 20.55 % | -0.3% |
| 1975 | 20.55 % | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 20.55 % | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 20.56 % | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 20.81 % | +1.2% |
| 1979 | 20.81 % | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 20.81 % | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 20.81 % | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 20.72 % | -0.4% |
| 1983 | 20.72 % | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 20.72 % | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 20.72 % | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 20.72 % | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 20.5 % | -1.1% |
| 1988 | 20.5 % | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 20.5 % | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 20.5 % | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 20.5 % | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 20.33 % | -0.8% |
| 1993 | 20.19 % | -0.7% |
| 1994 | 20.1 % | -0.4% |
| 1995 | 20.1 % | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 19.8 % | -1.5% |
| 1997 | 19.66 % | -0.7% |
| 1998 | 19.57 % | -0.5% |
| 1999 | 19.44 % | -0.7% |
| 2000 | 19.44 % | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 19.44 % | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 19.18 % | -1.3% |
| 2003 | 18.93 % | -1.3% |
| 2004 | 18.69 % | -1.3% |
| 2005 | 18.44 % | -1.3% |
| 2006 | 18.2 % | -1.3% |
| 2007 | 17.95 % | -1.4% |
| 2008 | 17.83 % | -0.7% |
| 2009 | 17.68 % | -0.8% |
| 2010 | 17.54 % | -0.8% |
| 2011 | 17.39 % | -0.9% |
| 2012 | 17.24 % | -0.9% |
| 2013 | 17.3 % | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 17.36 % | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 17.42 % | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 17.48 % | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 17.54 % | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 17.41 % | -0.7% |
| 2019 | 17.29 % | -0.7% |
| 2020 | 17.16 % | -0.8% |
| 2021 | 17.04 % | -0.7% |
| 2022 | 16.92 % | -0.7% |
| 2023 | 16.92 % | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 16.92 % | +0.0% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 16.92 % is above the median for high income countries, which is 11.11 %, 1.5× the median. (75 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 19.77 % | 19.25 % | 20.86 % | 9 |
| 1970s | 20.66 % | 20.55 % | 20.81 % | 10 |
| 1980s | 20.67 % | 20.5 % | 20.81 % | 10 |
| 1990s | 20.02 % | 19.44 % | 20.5 % | 10 |
| 2000s | 18.58 % | 17.68 % | 19.44 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 17.4 % | 17.24 % | 17.54 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 16.99 % | 16.92 % | 17.16 % | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States
- 103 North Macedonia 17.72 % compare
- 104 Channel Islands 17.44 % compare
- 105 Micronesia 17.19 % compare
- 107 Cameroon 16.85 % compare
- 108 Austria 16.78 % compare
- 109 Croatia 16.64 % compare
More environment data for United States
- Grazing land use over the long-term, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per capita 0.7539 hectares per person (2025)
- 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)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per square kilometre 28.17 hectares per square kilometre (2024)
- Sawnwood, coniferous — Production, annual growth rate -1.39 % change on previous year (2024)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 3.36 % change on previous year (2024)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is cropland — share in land area in United States?
- Cropland — share in land area in United States was 16.92 % in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest cropland — share in land area recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 20.86 % in 1969.
- What is the lowest cropland — share in land area recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.92 % in 2022.
- How does United States rank for cropland — share in land area?
- United States ranks 106th out of 252 countries with data for 2024.
- Is cropland — share in land area rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.5%. 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, published as part of Cropland — Share in Land area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
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.