Land area equipped for irrigation — Area in Australia
Australia: Land area equipped for irrigation — Area was 2,196 1000 ha in 2024. ▲ Rising
Land area equipped for irrigation — Area in Australia, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.
Analysis
The most recent figure for land area equipped for irrigation — area in Australia is 2,196 1000 ha, measured in 2024.
The figure is down 7.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land area equipped for irrigation — area in Australia peaked at 2,546 1000 ha in 2006 and was at its lowest, 1,001 1000 ha, in 1961.
Australia ranks 35th of 217 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Land area equipped for irrigation — Area in Australia, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1,001 1000 ha | — |
| 1962 | 1,052 1000 ha | +5.1% |
| 1963 | 1,076 1000 ha | +2.3% |
| 1964 | 1,170 1000 ha | +8.7% |
| 1965 | 1,274 1000 ha | +8.9% |
| 1966 | 1,359 1000 ha | +6.7% |
| 1967 | 1,344 1000 ha | -1.1% |
| 1968 | 1,354 1000 ha | +0.7% |
| 1969 | 1,476 1000 ha | +9.0% |
| 1970 | 1,476 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 1,475 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 1972 | 1,474 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 1973 | 1,473 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 1974 | 1,471 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 1975 | 1,469 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 1976 | 1,475 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1977 | 1,481 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1978 | 1,488 1000 ha | +0.5% |
| 1979 | 1,494 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1980 | 1,500 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1981 | 1,654 1000 ha | +10.3% |
| 1982 | 1,645 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 1983 | 1,635 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 1984 | 1,625 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 1985 | 1,700 1000 ha | +4.6% |
| 1986 | 1,765 1000 ha | +3.8% |
| 1987 | 1,836 1000 ha | +4.0% |
| 1988 | 1,835 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 1989 | 1,833 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 1990 | 1,832 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 1991 | 2,012 1000 ha | +9.8% |
| 1992 | 2,069 1000 ha | +2.8% |
| 1993 | 2,107 1000 ha | +1.8% |
| 1994 | 2,408 1000 ha | +14.3% |
| 1995 | 2,400 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 1996 | 2,390 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1997 | 2,380 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1998 | 2,365 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 1999 | 2,251 1000 ha | -4.8% |
| 2000 | 2,384 1000 ha | +5.9% |
| 2001 | 2,506 1000 ha | +5.1% |
| 2002 | 2,545 1000 ha | +1.6% |
| 2003 | 2,545 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 2,545 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 2,545 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 2,546 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 2,506 1000 ha | -1.6% |
| 2008 | 2,466 1000 ha | -1.6% |
| 2009 | 2,427 1000 ha | -1.6% |
| 2010 | 2,387 1000 ha | -1.6% |
| 2011 | 2,347 1000 ha | -1.7% |
| 2012 | 2,307 1000 ha | -1.7% |
| 2013 | 2,378 1000 ha | +3.1% |
| 2014 | 2,361 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2015 | 2,188 1000 ha | -7.4% |
| 2016 | 2,148 1000 ha | -1.8% |
| 2017 | 2,244 1000 ha | +4.5% |
| 2018 | 2,298 1000 ha | +2.4% |
| 2019 | 1,955 1000 ha | -14.9% |
| 2020 | 1,521 1000 ha | -22.2% |
| 2021 | 1,945 1000 ha | +27.9% |
| 2022 | 1,976 1000 ha | +1.6% |
| 2023 | 2,196 1000 ha | +11.1% |
| 2024 | 2,196 1000 ha | +0.0% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 2,196 1000 ha is above the median for high income countries, which is 53.5 1000 ha, 41.0× the median. (60 countries reporting)
- Australia's 2,196 1000 ha is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 471.11 1000 ha, 4.7× the median. (20 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Land area equipped for irrigation — Area in Australia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | +27.9% | 1,521 1000 ha | 1,945 1000 ha |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1,234 1000 ha | 1,001 1000 ha | 1,476 1000 ha | 9 |
| 1970s | 1,478 1000 ha | 1,469 1000 ha | 1,494 1000 ha | 10 |
| 1980s | 1,703 1000 ha | 1,500 1000 ha | 1,836 1000 ha | 10 |
| 1990s | 2,221 1000 ha | 1,832 1000 ha | 2,408 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 2,502 1000 ha | 2,384 1000 ha | 2,546 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 2,261 1000 ha | 1,955 1000 ha | 2,387 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 1,967 1000 ha | 1,521 1000 ha | 2,196 1000 ha | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 32 Myanmar 2,442 1000 ha compare
- 33 Kazakhstan 2,369 1000 ha compare
- 34 South Africa 2,240 1000 ha compare
- 36 Ukraine 2,170 1000 ha compare
- 37 Philippines 2,155 1000 ha compare
- 38 Argentina 2,100 1000 ha 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 land area equipped for irrigation — area in Australia?
- Land area equipped for irrigation — area in Australia was 2,196 1000 ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest land area equipped for irrigation — area recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 2,546 1000 ha in 2006.
- What is the lowest land area equipped for irrigation — area recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1,001 1000 ha in 1961.
- How does Australia rank for land area equipped for irrigation — area?
- Australia ranks 35th out of 217 countries with data for 2024.
- Is land area equipped for irrigation — area rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Land area equipped for irrigation — 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.