Arable land


Arable land is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops. Alternatively, for the purposes of agricultural statistics, the term often has a more precise definition:
A more concise definition appearing in the Eurostat glossary similarly refers to actual rather than potential uses: "land worked regularly, generally under a system of crop rotation". In Britain, arable land has traditionally been contrasted with pasturable land such as heaths, which could be used for sheep-rearing but not as farmland.
Arable land is vulnerable to land degradation and some types of un-arable land can be enriched to create useful land. Climate change and biodiversity loss are driving pressure on arable land.

By country

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in 2013, the world's arable land amounted to 1.407 billion hectares, out of a total of 4.924 billion hectares of land used for agriculture.

Arable land (hectares per person)

Country Name2013
Afghanistan0.254
Albania0.213
Algeria0.196
American Samoa0.054
Andorra0.038
Angola0.209
Antigua and Barbuda0.044
Argentina0.933
Armenia0.150
Aruba0.019
Australia1.999
Austria0.160
Azerbaijan0.204
Bahamas, The0.021
Bahrain0.001
Bangladesh0.049
Barbados0.039
Belarus0.589
Belgium0.073
Belize0.227
Benin0.262
Bermuda0.005
Bhutan0.133
Bolivia0.427
Bosnia and Herzegovina0.264
Botswana0.125
Brazil0.372
British Virgin Islands0.034
Brunei Darussalam0.012
Bulgaria0.479
Burkina Faso0.363
Burundi0.115
Cabo Verde0.108
Cambodia0.275
Cameroon0.279
Canada1.306
Cayman Islands0.003
Central African Republic0.382
Chad0.373
Channel Islands0.026
Chile0.074
China0.078
Colombia0.036
Comoros0.086
Congo, Dem. Rep.0.098
Congo, Rep.0.125
Costa Rica0.049
Côte d'Ivoire0.134
Croatia0.206
Cuba0.278
Curaçao
Cyprus0.070
Czech Republic0.299
Denmark0.429
Djibouti0.002
Dominica0.083
Dominican Republic0.078
Ecuador0.076
Egypt, Arab Rep.0.031
El Salvador0.120
Equatorial Guinea0.151
Eritrea
Estonia0.480
Ethiopia0.160
Faroe Islands0.062
Fiji0.187
Finland0.409
France0.277
French Polynesia0.009
Gabon0.197
Gambia, The0.236
Georgia0.119
Germany0.145
Ghana0.180
Gibraltar
Greece0.232
Greenland0.016
Grenada0.028
Guam0.006
Guatemala0.064
Guinea0.259
Guinea-Bissau0.171
Guyana0.552
Haiti0.103
Honduras0.130
Hong Kong SAR, China0.000
Hungary0.445
Iceland0.374
India0.123
Indonesia0.094
Iran, Islamic Rep.0.193
Iraq0.147
Ireland0.242
Isle of Man0.253
Israel0.035
Italy0.113
Jamaica0.044
Japan0.033
Jordan0.032
Kazakhstan1.726
Kenya0.133
Kiribati0.018
Korea, Dem. People's Rep.0.094
Korea, Rep.0.030
Kosovo
Kuwait0.003
Kyrgyz Republic0.223
Lao PDR0.226
Latvia0.600
Lebanon0.025
Lesotho0.119
Liberia0.116
Libya0.274
Liechtenstein0.070
Lithuania0.774
Luxembourg0.115
Macao SAR, China
Macedonia, FYR0.199
Madagascar0.153
Malawi0.235
Malaysia0.032
Maldives0.010
Mali0.386
Malta0.021
Marshall Islands0.038
Mauritania0.116
Mauritius0.060
Mexico0.186
Micronesia, Fed. Sts.0.019
Moldova0.510
Monaco
Mongolia0.198
Montenegro0.013
Morocco0.240
Mozambique0.213
Myanmar0.203
Namibia0.341
Nauru
Nepal0.076
Netherlands0.062
New Caledonia0.024
New Zealand0.123
Nicaragua0.253
Niger0.866
Nigeria0.197
Northern Mariana Islands0.019
Norway0.159
Oman0.010
Pakistan0.168
Palau0.048
Panama0.148
Papua New Guinea0.041
Paraguay0.696
Peru0.136
Philippines0.057
Poland0.284
Portugal0.107
Puerto Rico0.017
Qatar0.007
Romania0.438
Russian Federation0.852
Rwanda0.107
Samoa0.042
San Marino0.032
São Tomé and Príncipe0.048
Saudi Arabia0.102
Senegal0.229
Serbia0.460
Seychelles0.001
Sierra Leone0.256
Singapore0.000
Sint Maarten
Slovak Republic0.258
Slovenia0.085
Solomon Islands0.036
Somalia0.107
South Africa0.235
South Sudan
Spain0.270
Sri Lanka0.063
St. Kitts and Nevis0.092
St. Lucia0.016
St. Martin
St. Vincent and the Grenadines0.046
Sudan0.345
Suriname0.112
Swaziland0.140
Sweden0.270
Switzerland0.050
Syrian Arab Republic0.241
Tajikistan0.106
Tanzania0.269
Thailand0.249
Timor-Leste0.131
Togo0.382
Tonga0.152
Trinidad and Tobago0.019
Tunisia0.262
Turkey0.270
Turkmenistan0.370
Turks and Caicos Islands0.030
Tuvalu
Uganda0.189
Ukraine0.715
United Arab Emirates0.004
United Kingdom0.098
United States0.480
Uruguay0.682
Uzbekistan0.145
Vanuatu0.079
Venezuela, RB0.089
Vietnam0.071
Virgin Islands 0.010
West Bank and Gaza0.011
Yemen, Rep.0.049
Zambia0.243
Zimbabwe0.268