Land area equipped for irrigation — Share in Cropland in South America
South America: Land area equipped for irrigation — Share in Cropland was 13.38 % in 2024. ▲ Rising
Land area equipped for irrigation — Share in Cropland in South America, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
South America recorded 13.38 % for land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland in 2024.
That represents a change of down 0.1% on the previous year and up 1.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland in South America peaked at 13.77 % in 2019 and was at its lowest, 6.42 %, in 1961.
That places South America 18th out of 31 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Land area equipped for irrigation — Share in Cropland in South America, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 6.42 % | — |
| 1962 | 6.45 % | +0.5% |
| 1963 | 6.47 % | +0.3% |
| 1964 | 6.51 % | +0.6% |
| 1965 | 6.56 % | +0.8% |
| 1966 | 6.61 % | +0.8% |
| 1967 | 6.68 % | +1.1% |
| 1968 | 6.66 % | -0.3% |
| 1969 | 6.77 % | +1.7% |
| 1970 | 6.88 % | +1.6% |
| 1971 | 6.96 % | +1.2% |
| 1972 | 7.01 % | +0.7% |
| 1973 | 7.07 % | +0.9% |
| 1974 | 7.1 % | +0.4% |
| 1975 | 7.19 % | +1.3% |
| 1976 | 7.07 % | -1.7% |
| 1977 | 7 % | -1.0% |
| 1978 | 6.96 % | -0.6% |
| 1979 | 6.91 % | -0.7% |
| 1980 | 6.83 % | -1.2% |
| 1981 | 6.94 % | +1.6% |
| 1982 | 7.03 % | +1.3% |
| 1983 | 7.11 % | +1.1% |
| 1984 | 7.14 % | +0.4% |
| 1985 | 7.18 % | +0.6% |
| 1986 | 7.49 % | +4.3% |
| 1987 | 7.73 % | +3.2% |
| 1988 | 7.98 % | +3.2% |
| 1989 | 8.28 % | +3.8% |
| 1990 | 8.63 % | +4.2% |
| 1991 | 8.84 % | +2.4% |
| 1992 | 9.09 % | +2.8% |
| 1993 | 9.38 % | +3.2% |
| 1994 | 9.65 % | +2.9% |
| 1995 | 10 % | +3.6% |
| 1996 | 10.08 % | +0.8% |
| 1997 | 10.16 % | +0.8% |
| 1998 | 10.23 % | +0.7% |
| 1999 | 10.3 % | +0.7% |
| 2000 | 10.36 % | +0.6% |
| 2001 | 10.5 % | +1.4% |
| 2002 | 10.79 % | +2.8% |
| 2003 | 10.87 % | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 10.99 % | +1.1% |
| 2005 | 11.06 % | +0.6% |
| 2006 | 11.2 % | +1.3% |
| 2007 | 11.43 % | +2.1% |
| 2008 | 11.92 % | +4.3% |
| 2009 | 12.37 % | +3.8% |
| 2010 | 12.48 % | +0.9% |
| 2011 | 12.68 % | +1.6% |
| 2012 | 12.85 % | +1.3% |
| 2013 | 13.05 % | +1.6% |
| 2014 | 13.19 % | +1.1% |
| 2015 | 13.28 % | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 13.53 % | +1.9% |
| 2017 | 13.66 % | +1.0% |
| 2018 | 13.75 % | +0.7% |
| 2019 | 13.77 % | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 13.68 % | -0.7% |
| 2021 | 13.15 % | -3.9% |
| 2022 | 13.58 % | +3.3% |
| 2023 | 13.4 % | -1.3% |
| 2024 | 13.38 % | -0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 6.57 % | 6.42 % | 6.77 % | 9 |
| 1970s | 7.02 % | 6.88 % | 7.19 % | 10 |
| 1980s | 7.37 % | 6.83 % | 8.28 % | 10 |
| 1990s | 9.64 % | 8.63 % | 10.3 % | 10 |
| 2000s | 11.15 % | 10.36 % | 12.37 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 13.22 % | 12.48 % | 13.77 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 13.44 % | 13.15 % | 13.68 % | 5 |
Countries ranked near South America
- 15 Israel 86.86 % compare
- 16 Kyrgyzstan 74.95 % compare
- 17 Saudi Arabia 71.44 % compare
- 18 Tajikistan 71.28 % compare
- 19 Nepal 70.24 % compare
- 20 Greece 69.29 % compare
- 21 Barbados 67.5 % compare
More environment data for South America
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -6.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.98 Percentage change (2025)
- Temperature change 1.23 °C (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.218 °C (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Total fibre furnish — Production, annual growth rate 4.24 % change on previous year (2024)
- Exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -9.52 Percentage change (2024)
- Newsprint — Import quantity, gaps filled 107,789 t (2024)
- Newsprint — Import quantity, annual growth rate 5.48 % change on previous year (2024)
- Newsprint — Import value, gaps filled 60,764 1000 USD (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland in South America?
- Land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland in South America was 13.38 % in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland recorded in South America?
- The highest recorded value was 13.77 % in 2019.
- What is the lowest land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland recorded in South America?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.42 % in 1961.
- How does South America rank for land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland?
- South America ranks 18th out of 31 groups with data for 2024.
- Is land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland rising or falling in South America?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South America data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Land area equipped for irrigation — Share in Cropland. 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.