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Arable Land 2021 (Acres)

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100M

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300M

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400M

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Arable Land by Country 2024

Arable land is defined by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as land currently used, or potentially capable of being used, to grow seasonal crops. This definition includes annual crops such as wheat, beans, and rice, but excludes land used for pasturing, tree farming (or "silviculture"), or more durable agricultural installations such as vineyards, orchards, and coffee and rubber plantations.

Most Arable Land by Country

Country
Hectares 2019
United States157.7M
India156.1M
Russia121.6M
China119.5M
Brazil55.8M
Canada38.6M
Nigeria34M
Ukraine32.9M
Argentina32.6M
Australia30.6M

The United States and India have the most arable land in the world, though the two countries occasionally swap positions. For example, the United States ranked first in 2019, but was second in 2016 with roughly 152.2 million hectares of arable land (about 588,000 square miles), which is approximately 16.8 percent of U.S. land area. In the top spot was India, which devoted almost 53 percent of its land area to crops and tallied 156.4 million hectares of arable land.

India's neighbor Bangladesh is just over 58% arable, earning it the highest percentage of arable land in the world in 2016. Greenland is the largest country with no arable land, while the smallest nation—the small city-state of Vatican City—has none as well.

According to the FAO, the world’s arable land amounted to 1.38 billion hectares (5.34 million square miles) in 2019. Arable land worldwide has decreased by nearly a third since 1961. This reduction is due largely to reforestation, soil erosion, and desertification caused by global climate change.

Non-arable land can sometimes be made arable, for example by removing forests or tilling pasture land. On the other hand, non-arable land such as mountains, tundra, or desert is often permanently non-arable. The word “arable” comes from the Latin word arabilis, meaning “able to be plowed.”

Note:
- A hectare is a unit of area equivalent to a square whose sides measure 100 yards each. One hectare is equal to 2.471 acres.
- Acreage values shown were calculated using hectare areas and have been rounded to the nearest whole acre.

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Country
Arable Land 2021 (Acres)
Arable Land 2021 (Hectares)
Hectares 2019
Acres
United States389.8M157.7M157.7M389.8M
India381.6M154.4M156.1M385.6M
Russia300.6M121.6M121.6M300.6M
China269M108.9M119.5M295.2M
Brazil143.9M58.3M55.8M137.8M
Argentina104.3M42.2M32.6M80.6M
Canada94.5M38.3M38.6M95.5M
Nigeria91.1M36.9M34M84M
Ukraine81.4M32.9M32.9M81.4M
Australia77.3M31.3M30.6M75.5M
Pakistan75.4M30.5M30.5M75.4M
Kazakhstan73.3M29.7M29.9M73.8M
Indonesia65M26.3M26.3M65M
Sudan51.9M21M19.8M49M
Mexico49.6M20.1M19.4M47.9M
Turkey49.1M19.9M19.6M48.4M
France44.4M18M19.1M47.1M
Niger43.7M17.7M17.7M43.7M
Thailand42.4M17.1M16.8M41.5M
Ethiopia40.3M16.3M16.2M40M
Iran38.8M15.7M15.6M38.7M
DR Congo33.8M13.7M11.8M29.2M
Tanzania33.4M13.5M13.5M33.4M
South Africa29.7M12M12M29.7M
Germany28.8M11.7M11.7M28.9M
Spain28.5M11.6M11.8M29.2M
Poland27.4M11.1M11.1M27.3M
Myanmar27.2M11M11M27.2M
Romania21.2M8.6M9M22.2M
Mali20.6M8.3M6.4M15.8M
Bangladesh20M8.1M8M19.7M
Afghanistan19.3M7.8M7.8M19.2M
Algeria18.6M7.5M7.5M18.5M
Morocco18.6M7.5M6.9M17M
Italy17.8M7.2M6.9M17.1M
Uganda17.1M6.9M6.9M17M
Vietnam16.8M6.8M6.8M16.8M
Cameroon15.3M6.2M6.2M15.3M
Burkina Faso15.1M6.1M6M14.8M
United Kingdom14.9M6M6.1M15M
Kenya14.3M5.8M5.8M14.3M
Mozambique14M5.7M5.7M14M
Belarus13.9M5.6M5.7M14.1M
Philippines13.8M5.6M5.6M13.8M
Angola13.3M5.4M4.9M12.1M
Chad13.1M5.3M5.2M12.8M
Iraq12.3M5M5M12.4M
Bolivia12M4.9M4.5M11.2M
Paraguay11.7M4.7M4.7M11.7M
Ghana11.6M4.7M3.3M8.2M
Syria11.5M4.7M4.7M11.5M
Peru10.6M4.3M4.3M10.6M
Hungary10.2M4.1M4.3M10.7M
Cambodia10.2M4.1M3.9M9.6M
Japan10.1M4.1M4.1M10.2M
Uzbekistan9.9M4M4M10M
Malawi9.9M4M3.6M8.9M
Zimbabwe9.9M4M4M9.9M
Senegal9.5M3.8M3.2M7.9M
Zambia9.4M3.8M3.8M9.4M
Bulgaria8.6M3.5M3.5M8.6M
Ivory Coast8.6M3.5M3.5M8.6M
Saudi Arabia8.5M3.4M3.4M8.5M
Guinea7.7M3.1M3.1M7.7M
Egypt7.6M3.1M2.9M7.2M
Madagascar7.4M3M3M7.4M
Cuba7.2M2.9M3M7.4M
Tunisia7M2.8M2.6M6.4M
Benin6.9M2.8M2.8M6.9M
Togo6.5M2.6M2.6M6.5M
Serbia6.5M2.6M2.6M6.4M
Venezuela6.4M2.6M2.6M6.4M
Sweden6.3M2.5M2.5M6.3M
Czech Republic6.1M2.5M
South Sudan5.9M2.4M
Denmark5.8M2.4M2.4M5.9M
North Korea5.7M2.3M2.3M5.6M
Lithuania5.6M2.3M2.2M5.5M
Finland5.5M2.2M2.2M5.5M
Greece5.3M2.1M2.1M5.3M
Nepal5.2M2.1M2.1M5.2M
Azerbaijan5.2M2.1M2.1M5.2M
Uruguay5M2M2M5M
Colombia4.9M2M6M14.8M
Turkmenistan4.8M1.9M1.9M4.8M
Central African Republic4.4M1.8M1.8M4.4M
Libya4.3M1.7M1.7M4.3M
Moldova4.2M1.7M1.7M4.2M
Sierra Leone3.9M1.6M1.6M3.9M
Guatemala3.8M1.6M862K2.1M
Nicaragua3.7M1.5M1.5M3.7M
Sri Lanka3.4M1.4M1.4M3.4M
Latvia3.4M1.4M1.3M3.3M
South Korea3.3M1.3M1.4M3.4M
Mongolia3.3M1.3M1.3M3.3M
Slovakia3.3M1.3M1.3M3.3M
Austria3.3M1.3M1.3M3.3M
Chile3.2M1.3M1.2M2.9M
Kyrgyzstan3.2M1.3M1.3M3.2M
Burundi3.1M1.3M1.2M3M
Rwanda3.1M1.3M1.2M2.8M
Laos3M1.2M1.6M3.8M
Yemen2.9M1.2M1.2M2.9M
Somalia2.7M1.1M1.1M2.7M
Ecuador2.5M1M989K2.4M
Honduras2.5M1M1M2.5M
Bosnia and Herzegovina2.5M1M1M2.5M
Haiti2.5M1M1.1M2.6M
Netherlands2.5M1M1M2.5M
Portugal2.4M965.2K919.2K2.3M
Dominican Republic2.2M877K877K2.2M
Belgium2.1M865.6K857.3K2.1M
Croatia2.1M857K823K2M
Tajikistan2.1M838K699.9K1.7M
Malaysia2M826K826K2M
Norway2M804K799.9K2M
Namibia2M800K800K2M
El Salvador1.8M721K721K1.8M
Estonia1.7M700K692.8K1.7M
Eritrea1.7M690K690K1.7M
New Zealand1.5M616K546K1.3M
Albania1.5M599.9K610K1.5M
Panama1.4M565K565K1.4M
Republic of the Congo1.4M550K
Liberia1.2M500K500K1.2M
Mauritania1.1M450K400K988.4K
Armenia1.1M443.4K444.8K1.1M
Gambia1.1M440K440K1.1M
Ireland1.1M436K443K1.1M
Lesotho1.1M429K138K341K
Guyana1M420K420K1M
North Macedonia1M417K419K1M
Switzerland977.2K395.5K398.8K985.4K
Israel931.6K377K378K934K
Papua New Guinea817.9K331K300K741.3K
Gabon803.1K325K325K803.1K
Georgia771K312K307K758.6K
Guinea Bissau741.3K300K300K741.3K
Botswana642.5K260K260K642.5K
Costa Rica600.5K243K254.5K628.9K
Jordan492.2K199.2K208.6K515.5K
Slovenia447.1K180.9K181.2K447.8K
Eswatini437.4K177K175K432.4K
Lebanon344.2K139.3K132K326.2K
Iceland299K121K121K299K
Jamaica296.5K120K120K296.5K
Timor Leste275.5K111.5K155K383K
Belize247.1K100K90K222.4K
Cyprus235.1K95.2K96.3K237.9K
Bhutan232.3K94K94K232.3K
Oman204.1K82.6K77.8K192.3K
Fiji189.8K76.8K165K407.7K
Mauritius185.3K75K75K185.3K
Comoros160.6K65K66K163.1K
Luxembourg154.4K62.5K62K153.1K
Suriname143.3K58K62K153.2K
Equatorial Guinea131K53K120K296.5K
United Arab Emirates124.3K50.3K49.9K123.3K
Puerto Rico124K50.2K50.2K124K
Trinidad and Tobago61.8K25K25K61.8K
Solomon Islands56.8K23K20K49.4K
Qatar51.9K21K14K34.6K
Vanuatu49.4K20K20K49.4K
Tonga49.4K20K20K49.4K
Samoa27.9K11.3K32.5K80.3K
Montenegro22K8.9K9K22.2K
Kuwait19.8K8K8K19.8K
Bahamas19.8K8K8K19.8K
Malta19.3K7.8K9.1K22.4K
Barbados17.3K7K7K17.3K
Dominica14.8K6K6K14.8K
New Caledonia14.8K6K6K14.8K
Saint Kitts and Nevis12.4K5K5K12.4K
Brunei9.9K4K4K9.9K
Sao Tome and Principe9.9K4K4K9.9K
Antigua and Barbuda9.9K4K4K9.9K
Maldives9.6K3.9K3.9K9.6K
Djibouti7.4K3K2K4.9K
Grenada7.4K3K3K7.4K
Saint Lucia6.6K2.7K3K7.4K
French Polynesia6.2K2.5K2.5K6.2K
Bahrain5.2K2.1K1.6K4K
Hong Kong4.9K2K3K7.4K
Kiribati4.9K2K2K4.9K
Micronesia4.9K2K2K4.9K
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines4.9K2K2K4.9K
San Marino4.9K2K2K4.9K
Liechtenstein4.3K1.7K1.5K3.7K
Guam2.5K1K1K2.5K
American Samoa2.4K9703.2K7.9K
Andorra1.8K7488002K
Singapore1.4K5605601.4K
Marshall Islands1.2K5002K4.9K
Bermuda741300300741
Palau741300300741
Cayman Islands494200200494
Seychelles371150150371
Faroe Islands173703K7.4K
Taiwan590.2K1.5M
Palestine87K215K
Reunion34.2K84.5K
Western Sahara4K9.9K
Guadeloupe22.3K55.1K
Martinique10.9K26.9K
Mayotte17.3K42.6K
Aruba2K4.9K
United States Virgin Islands8002K
Isle of Man24.1K59.6K
Northern Mariana Islands80198
Turks and Caicos Islands1K2.5K
British Virgin Islands1K2.5K
Cook Islands1K2.5K
Saint Pierre and Miquelon2K4.9K
Montserrat2K4.9K
Niue1K2.5K
Total1.4B3.4B
showing: 215 rows

Which country has most arable land?

United States has the most arable land in the world, with 389.8M acres.

What are the top 10 most fertile countries in the world?

The world's most fertile countries per their available arable land are the United States, India, Russia, China, Brazil, Canada, Nigeria, Ukraine, Argentina, and Australia.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources