Agricultural land (share of land) over time (1961–2024)

Follow agricultural land (share of land) for the world’s countries, year by year, from 1961 to 2024.

The country ranked first changed over time: Uruguay in 1961–1966, Mongolia in 1967–1975, Uruguay in 1976–2006, Lesotho in 2007–2008, Uruguay in 2009, Lesotho in 2010–2011, Uruguay in 2012–2016, Lesotho in 2017–2018, Uruguay in 2019–2020, Lesotho in 2021–2022, Tuvalu in 2023–2024. This is the first place among today’s countries: regions that later split, such as the former Soviet Union, have no values from before the split.
Japan’s agricultural land (share of land) went from 19.4% in 1961 to 12.6% in 2024 (down 6.8 points).
Japan ranked #113 of 160 countries in 1961 and #163 of 191 in 2024. The number of countries differs between the years, so the ranks are not directly comparable.

Japan and countries at the top, middle and bottom

Key years for Japan and countries at the top, middle and bottom of the 2024 ranking
Country	1961	1970	1980	1990	2000	2010	2020	2024
Tuvalu	66.7%	66.7%	66.7%	66.7%	66.7%	60.0%	60.0%	100.0%
Paraguay	26.2%	28.3%	32.4%	35.9%	41.9%	47.7%	52.9%	54.1%
Greece	69.1%	71.0%	71.2%	71.2%	66.2%	58.1%	43.6%	38.9%
Liberia	11.9%	11.8%	11.8%	11.0%	14.2%	17.3%	20.0%	20.1%
Japan	19.4%	18.3%	16.8%	16.0%	14.4%	13.6%	12.8%	12.6%
Suriname	0.3%	0.3%	0.4%	0.5%	0.5%	0.5%	0.5%	0.5%
Countries with data	160	160	160	160	188	190	192	191

Ranking and map for any year

Choose a year to see that year’s top countries and the world map. Colors split that year’s ranking into seven steps.

2024


Rank	Country	Agricultural land (share of land)

Biggest changes, 1961–2024

Compared among the countries that have data in both 1961 and 2024. Countries with a very small starting value are left out, because their ratios look exaggerated.

Biggest increases
Country	1961	2024	Change	Rank
Gambia	32.7%	76.1%	up 43.4 points	#84 → #12
Saudi Arabia	40.1%	81.7%	up 41.6 points	#73 → #6
Uganda	45.1%	80.3%	up 35.1 points	#60 → #7
Côte d’Ivoire	49.5%	83.9%	up 34.4 points	#48 → #5
Tuvalu	66.7%	100.0%	up 33.3 points	#15 → #1

Biggest decreases
Country	1961	2024	Change	Rank
Grenada	64.7%	23.3%	down 41.5 points	#19 → #132
St. Kitts & Nevis	57.1%	23.0%	down 34.2 points	#30 → #135
Malta	56.3%	25.4%	down 30.8 points	#33 → #127
Greece	69.1%	38.9%	down 30.2 points	#13 → #96
Cyprus	43.7%	13.6%	down 30.2 points	#69 → #160

The number of countries differs between the years, so the ranks are not directly comparable.

All countries in key years

Open the table (countries with data)

Key years for Japan and the leading countries in 2024
Country	1961	1970	1980	1990	2000	2010	2020	2024
Tuvalu	66.7%	66.7%	66.7%	66.7%	66.7%	60.0%	60.0%	100.0%
Lesotho	85.0%	85.4%	82.8%	83.6%	83.7%	83.7%	84.5%	92.9%
Uruguay	93.4%	88.5%	86.2%	85.2%	85.5%	82.5%	88.1%	87.4%
Turkmenistan	–	–	–	–	74.7%	71.8%	84.6%	84.3%
Côte d’Ivoire	49.5%	51.1%	54.5%	59.9%	62.1%	65.7%	81.5%	83.9%
Saudi Arabia	40.1%	40.2%	40.5%	57.4%	80.8%	80.8%	80.8%	81.7%
Uganda	45.1%	49.9%	53.5%	59.9%	62.6%	75.9%	80.8%	80.3%
South Africa	83.5%	78.7%	77.5%	78.8%	80.9%	79.9%	79.4%	79.4%
Kazakhstan	–	–	–	–	79.8%	80.4%	79.5%	79.2%
Comoros	51.0%	51.0%	53.7%	61.3%	68.8%	71.5%	79.6%	78.9%
Nigeria	59.5%	60.6%	62.1%	64.5%	71.9%	74.2%	74.9%	77.1%
Gambia	32.7%	33.6%	36.6%	39.4%	41.9%	62.1%	70.6%	76.1%
Rwanda	53.3%	56.9%	69.5%	76.1%	76.3%	79.4%	73.6%	75.7%
Burundi	61.3%	73.2%	81.3%	80.7%	72.8%	71.1%	79.0%	74.2%
Syria	81.3%	73.2%	76.5%	73.4%	74.6%	75.7%	75.8%	74.1%
Djibouti	56.1%	56.1%	56.1%	56.0%	69.1%	73.4%	73.5%	73.5%
Moldova	–	–	–	–	77.4%	75.0%	75.1%	73.2%
Guinea	56.4%	56.3%	56.5%	57.2%	57.2%	60.9%	69.0%	73.2%
Bangladesh	72.8%	74.5%	76.7%	79.8%	72.2%	71.0%	72.4%	72.2%
Ukraine	–	–	–	–	71.5%	71.2%	71.3%	71.3%
Madagascar	60.4%	60.8%	62.0%	62.4%	68.6%	70.3%	70.3%	70.4%
Somalia	70.0%	70.1%	70.1%	70.2%	70.2%	70.3%	70.3%	70.3%
Eswatini	85.3%	86.9%	75.1%	72.0%	71.1%	71.0%	69.5%	69.6%
United Kingdom	81.8%	77.9%	76.3%	75.2%	70.1%	71.2%	71.3%	69.2%
Togo	56.4%	56.5%	55.8%	58.1%	62.5%	67.2%	68.8%	69.1%
Mongolia	90.9%	90.9%	80.5%	81.2%	84.3%	73.3%	72.2%	68.8%
Morocco	52.4%	57.6%	64.8%	68.0%	68.7%	67.2%	66.6%	67.2%
Ireland	66.2%	69.6%	71.6%	65.9%	63.8%	66.3%	65.5%	65.1%
Haiti	60.2%	61.9%	58.1%	57.9%	61.3%	72.0%	64.9%	65.1%
Denmark	79.0%	74.4%	72.6%	69.7%	66.2%	65.7%	65.5%	65.1%
Malawi	33.9%	39.3%	40.6%	44.7%	50.2%	58.1%	64.3%	65.0%
Lebanon	54.9%	61.3%	59.0%	59.2%	58.2%	62.6%	66.2%	63.7%
Eritrea	–	–	–	–	74.5%	62.8%	62.8%	62.8%
Burkina Faso	47.7%	47.7%	47.8%	51.1%	53.3%	56.4%	61.7%	62.6%
Tunisia	55.7%	58.3%	58.3%	59.2%	61.5%	64.6%	62.5%	62.1%
Cuba	33.1%	46.8%	55.3%	62.8%	61.0%	60.7%	61.7%	61.7%
Sudan	–	–	–	–	–	–	60.3%	60.3%
India	58.8%	59.9%	60.6%	61.0%	60.9%	60.4%	60.0%	59.9%
Armenia	–	–	–	–	46.5%	60.9%	59.4%	59.4%
Uzbekistan	–	–	–	–	62.7%	58.7%	58.3%	58.9%
Afghanistan	57.9%	58.3%	58.3%	58.3%	57.9%	58.1%	58.4%	58.4%
Azerbaijan	–	–	–	–	57.4%	57.7%	57.8%	57.8%
El Salvador	60.0%	57.0%	63.3%	61.3%	62.1%	59.4%	57.7%	57.3%
Mozambique	44.0%	44.0%	45.2%	46.3%	49.8%	51.9%	55.7%	56.1%
Hungary	78.7%	76.4%	73.7%	72.0%	65.3%	59.0%	53.9%	55.5%
Ghana	51.4%	51.4%	52.3%	55.5%	56.1%	54.5%	55.4%	55.4%
Sierra Leone	36.2%	36.9%	37.7%	39.1%	38.9%	54.5%	54.7%	55.2%
Romania	63.4%	64.8%	65.0%	64.4%	64.7%	61.5%	56.7%	55.2%
Paraguay	26.2%	28.3%	32.4%	35.9%	41.9%	47.7%	52.9%	54.1%
Kyrgyzstan	–	–	–	–	55.9%	55.3%	54.1%	54.0%
Netherlands	68.0%	65.2%	60.3%	59.8%	58.0%	55.5%	53.9%	53.4%
France	64.1%	60.3%	58.9%	56.8%	55.3%	53.7%	52.7%	52.8%
Luxembourg	–	–	–	–	49.7%	50.9%	51.3%	51.7%
Dominican Republic	45.3%	48.3%	54.2%	54.2%	52.1%	47.9%	48.5%	51.5%
Mexico	50.6%	50.2%	50.5%	54.1%	54.7%	52.4%	51.5%	50.6%
Türkiye	47.4%	49.6%	50.1%	51.6%	52.6%	50.7%	49.1%	50.2%
Kenya	44.0%	44.1%	44.8%	47.0%	47.0%	48.1%	49.1%	50.0%
Senegal	44.9%	46.0%	45.9%	46.1%	46.9%	48.2%	49.0%	49.4%
Spain	66.5%	64.3%	62.5%	61.0%	59.7%	55.1%	52.3%	49.3%
North Macedonia	–	–	–	–	48.6%	44.4%	50.0%	49.2%
Sri Lanka	27.5%	37.2%	37.5%	37.3%	37.5%	41.8%	45.5%	48.8%
Tonga	37.5%	44.4%	47.2%	44.4%	41.7%	46.1%	48.3%	48.5%
Zimbabwe	40.1%	41.2%	42.9%	45.4%	47.3%	48.0%	48.1%	48.1%
Germany	55.5%	54.5%	53.0%	51.6%	48.9%	47.9%	47.5%	47.4%
Australia	61.8%	64.2%	64.5%	60.5%	59.3%	49.0%	46.3%	47.3%
Pakistan	46.3%	46.5%	48.5%	45.7%	47.6%	45.7%	47.6%	47.2%
Namibia	46.9%	46.9%	47.0%	47.0%	47.2%	47.1%	47.1%	47.1%
Poland	66.3%	63.8%	62.1%	61.4%	60.1%	47.2%	48.1%	46.2%
Bulgaria	51.3%	54.3%	55.9%	55.7%	50.5%	46.5%	46.5%	46.2%
São Tomé & Príncipe	36.5%	37.5%	38.5%	30.2%	37.5%	34.4%	45.6%	46.1%
United States	48.9%	48.0%	46.7%	46.6%	45.2%	45.8%	46.3%	46.1%
Guatemala	24.7%	25.7%	28.3%	38.0%	44.4%	41.1%	46.0%	46.0%
Czechia	–	–	–	–	55.4%	45.6%	45.6%	45.8%
Lithuania	–	–	–	–	54.5%	44.2%	47.0%	45.6%
Botswana	45.9%	45.9%	45.9%	45.9%	45.6%	45.6%	45.6%	45.6%
Tanzania	29.4%	31.6%	33.9%	35.2%	38.4%	42.2%	44.7%	45.1%
South Sudan	–	–	–	–	–	–	44.7%	44.7%
Yemen	44.2%	44.4%	44.4%	44.7%	44.8%	44.7%	44.4%	44.4%
Belgium	–	–	–	–	45.8%	44.7%	44.8%	44.4%
Italy	70.3%	68.6%	59.7%	57.3%	52.6%	48.5%	42.3%	43.6%
Thailand	22.8%	27.9%	37.1%	41.9%	42.9%	44.7%	45.6%	43.3%
Benin	12.5%	15.1%	17.8%	20.1%	28.3%	30.9%	39.8%	43.1%
Philippines	25.7%	27.7%	35.4%	37.0%	37.0%	40.5%	42.5%	42.7%
San Marino	48.3%	48.3%	48.3%	48.3%	48.3%	42.8%	41.8%	42.3%
Kiribati	48.1%	46.9%	46.9%	48.1%	42.0%	42.0%	42.0%	41.9%
Andorra	55.3%	55.3%	48.9%	48.9%	48.9%	42.1%	40.0%	41.9%
China	45.1%	44.8%	44.4%	47.1%	46.2%	45.0%	41.6%	41.7%
Portugal	42.3%	42.9%	43.5%	43.3%	43.2%	39.9%	43.3%	41.3%
Albania	45.0%	44.9%	40.8%	40.9%	41.8%	43.8%	42.5%	41.1%
Mauritius	48.8%	55.2%	55.9%	55.5%	52.4%	44.5%	40.8%	40.9%
Marshall Islands	–	–	–	–	47.2%	47.2%	39.0%	40.2%
Chad	38.0%	38.0%	38.2%	38.4%	38.6%	39.1%	40.0%	40.0%
Vietnam	19.3%	19.7%	21.1%	20.7%	28.7%	34.3%	39.4%	39.2%
Belarus	–	–	–	–	45.6%	43.9%	40.8%	39.1%
Jamaica	49.2%	46.8%	45.9%	44.0%	44.6%	39.4%	39.0%	39.0%
Greece	69.1%	71.0%	71.2%	71.2%	66.2%	58.1%	43.6%	38.9%
Mauritania	38.3%	38.4%	38.3%	38.5%	38.5%	38.5%	38.5%	38.5%
Serbia	–	–	–	–	–	40.3%	39.8%	38.1%
Slovakia	–	–	–	–	50.7%	40.4%	39.2%	37.8%
Switzerland	43.9%	42.3%	41.8%	40.6%	39.6%	38.8%	38.0%	37.7%
New Zealand	50.0%	49.7%	55.4%	52.9%	46.9%	43.3%	38.6%	36.8%
Niger	24.9%	24.6%	24.3%	26.1%	29.2%	34.9%	36.8%	36.8%
Colombia	36.0%	38.8%	40.8%	40.6%	40.4%	38.3%	39.8%	36.5%
Angola	36.2%	36.2%	35.8%	35.5%	35.6%	35.8%	36.0%	36.3%
Bolivia	27.7%	28.0%	31.0%	33.1%	34.4%	34.8%	35.6%	36.1%
Cambodia	19.9%	19.4%	15.0%	25.1%	27.0%	30.5%	34.3%	34.7%
Ethiopia	–	–	–	–	30.5%	31.8%	34.3%	34.3%
Mali	26.0%	26.0%	26.3%	26.3%	31.7%	33.3%	34.2%	34.2%
Georgia	–	–	–	–	43.2%	35.2%	34.1%	33.7%
Dominica	22.7%	25.3%	25.3%	24.0%	28.0%	32.7%	32.7%	32.6%
Liechtenstein	56.3%	56.3%	56.3%	43.5%	43.2%	35.9%	32.3%	32.3%
Zambia	26.0%	26.7%	26.7%	28.0%	30.3%	31.5%	32.1%	32.1%
Latvia	–	–	–	–	25.5%	29.0%	31.6%	31.7%
Costa Rica	27.3%	36.3%	49.3%	42.8%	35.2%	34.1%	34.5%	31.4%
Guinea-Bissau	17.4%	17.8%	18.3%	20.6%	23.6%	26.8%	29.5%	31.4%
Republic of the Congo	30.9%	30.9%	30.8%	30.8%	30.9%	31.0%	31.2%	31.2%
Austria	43.1%	40.4%	38.1%	36.6%	35.6%	33.7%	31.5%	31.1%
Slovenia	–	–	–	–	25.7%	31.0%	30.3%	30.4%
Argentina	50.4%	46.5%	46.5%	46.6%	47.0%	46.2%	33.0%	29.5%
Iran	36.4%	36.7%	35.4%	37.8%	38.6%	28.6%	29.0%	29.0%
Indonesia	17.2%	18.3%	20.0%	24.9%	23.8%	26.6%	29.0%	28.9%
Honduras	27.2%	27.7%	29.7%	30.2%	26.2%	28.8%	28.7%	28.5%
Brazil	18.8%	22.8%	27.8%	28.1%	27.3%	27.7%	28.3%	28.4%
Tajikistan	–	–	–	–	32.7%	27.2%	27.8%	28.0%
Croatia	–	–	–	–	20.9%	23.8%	26.9%	26.2%
Nepal	24.8%	25.9%	28.6%	29.0%	29.6%	28.8%	26.5%	26.1%
Malta	56.3%	43.8%	40.6%	40.6%	28.1%	32.3%	28.5%	25.4%
Malaysia	9.4%	11.8%	15.0%	20.6%	22.1%	24.1%	25.7%	24.8%
Cape Verde	16.1%	16.1%	16.1%	16.9%	22.9%	24.9%	24.8%	24.8%
Venezuela	21.8%	22.6%	23.8%	24.8%	24.5%	24.4%	24.4%	24.4%
Israel	23.6%	24.3%	24.6%	26.8%	26.2%	23.3%	25.0%	23.8%
Grenada	64.7%	64.7%	47.1%	38.2%	35.3%	29.4%	23.5%	23.3%
Barbados	44.2%	44.2%	44.2%	44.2%	41.9%	34.9%	23.3%	23.2%
Panama	22.9%	22.7%	25.0%	28.6%	30.0%	30.5%	25.3%	23.1%
St. Kitts & Nevis	57.1%	42.9%	57.7%	46.2%	35.3%	21.9%	23.1%	23.0%
Estonia	–	–	–	–	23.3%	22.4%	23.0%	23.0%
Timor-Leste	15.5%	16.3%	18.8%	21.4%	22.7%	22.7%	23.0%	23.0%
Bosnia & Herzegovina	–	–	–	–	41.6%	41.9%	43.8%	22.4%
Iraq	19.9%	20.6%	21.6%	21.1%	19.4%	18.9%	21.6%	21.6%
North Korea	18.5%	18.5%	20.2%	20.8%	21.0%	22.2%	21.5%	21.6%
Antigua & Barbuda	22.7%	20.5%	20.5%	21.1%	21.1%	21.1%	21.1%	21.1%
Cameroon	15.9%	16.9%	18.9%	19.4%	19.4%	20.5%	20.8%	21.1%
Ecuador	17.0%	17.5%	23.4%	28.3%	32.5%	30.2%	21.8%	20.3%
Liberia	11.9%	11.8%	11.8%	11.0%	14.2%	17.3%	20.0%	20.1%
Myanmar	16.0%	16.5%	15.9%	16.0%	16.5%	19.2%	19.9%	19.9%
Maldives	16.7%	16.7%	23.3%	26.7%	30.0%	23.0%	21.3%	19.8%
Peru	13.3%	14.0%	15.9%	17.7%	17.9%	18.6%	19.0%	19.0%
Montenegro	–	–	–	–	–	38.1%	19.2%	18.5%
St. Vincent & Grenadines	25.6%	28.2%	30.8%	28.1%	17.9%	17.9%	17.9%	18.0%
Samoa	19.8%	22.4%	26.1%	19.1%	17.0%	14.7%	17.8%	17.8%
Algeria	19.1%	18.6%	18.4%	16.2%	16.8%	17.4%	17.3%	17.3%
Fiji	12.4%	12.1%	15.9%	22.4%	21.3%	19.2%	17.1%	17.0%
St. Lucia	27.9%	31.1%	33.6%	34.3%	24.1%	16.3%	16.3%	16.3%
Iceland	21.1%	20.0%	19.0%	19.0%	18.8%	18.7%	18.6%	16.2%
Democratic Republic of the Congo	11.0%	11.2%	11.3%	11.5%	11.5%	13.7%	15.5%	16.2%
Nauru	14.0%	17.0%	17.0%	18.0%	20.0%	20.0%	18.5%	16.2%
South Korea	21.9%	24.1%	23.3%	22.6%	20.5%	18.2%	16.6%	16.0%
Chile	18.0%	20.3%	22.7%	21.4%	20.5%	19.8%	14.9%	14.4%
Bhutan	7.7%	8.2%	8.8%	9.7%	14.5%	13.6%	13.5%	13.8%
Cyprus	43.7%	43.1%	18.6%	17.4%	15.3%	12.4%	13.8%	13.6%
Vanuatu	8.6%	9.8%	10.5%	12.3%	12.9%	13.3%	13.3%	13.3%
Russia	–	–	–	–	13.3%	13.2%	13.2%	13.2%
Japan	19.4%	18.3%	16.8%	16.0%	14.4%	13.6%	12.8%	12.6%
Trinidad & Tobago	18.9%	19.1%	19.7%	15.0%	13.1%	10.5%	10.5%	11.6%
Jordan	12.3%	12.5%	12.8%	11.8%	12.1%	11.3%	11.6%	11.6%
Bahrain	14.5%	14.5%	14.5%	14.5%	13.9%	11.6%	10.3%	10.3%
Laos	6.7%	6.4%	7.0%	7.2%	7.8%	9.5%	9.6%	9.5%
Palau	–	–	–	–	9.3%	9.3%	9.4%	9.3%
Central African Republic	7.6%	7.8%	8.0%	8.0%	8.0%	7.9%	9.0%	9.3%
Libya	6.3%	7.4%	8.6%	8.8%	8.8%	8.7%	8.7%	8.7%
Kuwait	7.6%	7.6%	7.6%	7.9%	8.3%	8.5%	8.4%	8.4%
Belize	3.5%	3.6%	4.2%	5.5%	6.5%	6.9%	7.9%	8.2%
Micronesia	–	–	–	–	8.4%	8.1%	7.7%	7.7%
Finland	9.1%	8.9%	8.3%	7.9%	7.3%	7.5%	7.5%	7.4%
Sweden	10.4%	9.2%	9.1%	8.4%	7.3%	7.5%	7.4%	7.3%
Gabon	5.4%	5.9%	6.6%	6.7%	7.0%	7.0%	6.8%	6.9%
Canada	6.9%	7.0%	6.9%	6.8%	6.8%	6.5%	6.4%	6.5%
Qatar	4.4%	4.4%	4.7%	5.3%	5.7%	5.9%	6.4%	6.4%
United Arab Emirates	2.9%	3.0%	3.1%	4.0%	7.7%	5.5%	5.5%	5.6%
Oman	3.3%	3.4%	3.4%	3.5%	3.8%	4.7%	4.7%	4.8%
Egypt	2.6%	2.9%	2.5%	2.7%	3.3%	3.7%	4.0%	4.2%
Solomon Islands	2.0%	2.0%	2.1%	2.4%	2.7%	3.3%	3.9%	4.1%
Equatorial Guinea	5.2%	4.7%	4.2%	3.7%	3.7%	3.6%	3.6%	3.4%
Guyana	6.9%	7.0%	4.3%	3.6%	3.6%	3.6%	3.4%	3.4%
Seychelles	10.9%	10.9%	10.9%	8.7%	8.7%	5.0%	2.9%	3.4%
Papua New Guinea	1.1%	1.4%	1.8%	2.0%	2.4%	2.8%	3.1%	3.1%
Brunei	4.0%	4.0%	2.8%	2.5%	2.3%	2.5%	2.9%	2.9%
Norway	2.8%	2.6%	2.6%	2.7%	2.9%	2.8%	2.7%	2.7%
Bahamas	1.0%	1.0%	1.1%	1.1%	1.1%	1.2%	1.3%	1.3%
Singapore	20.9%	17.9%	11.9%	3.0%	1.8%	1.1%	0.9%	0.9%
Suriname	0.3%	0.3%	0.4%	0.5%	0.5%	0.5%	0.5%	0.5%
Nicaragua	28.5%	29.8%	31.1%	33.4%	42.7%	42.2%	42.3%	–
Countries with data	160	160	160	160	188	190	192	191

Notes on reading this history

Yearly values come from the same World Bank indicator. The number of countries with data differs by year, so each year’s ranks are given only among the countries that have data that year. The ranking page uses each country’s latest year, so it may not match a single year’s ranking here.

Regions that later split into several countries, such as the former Soviet Union, have a value for each new country only from the year it split. So older years have fewer countries with data, and values from before a split cannot be compared country by country with today’s countries. See the “Countries with data” row in the table.

Source: Agricultural land (% of land area), indicator AG.LND.AGRI.ZS. Processed by this site. data.worldbank.org

World Bank data last updated: 2026-10-08