Least developed countries: UN classification: Arable land (% of land area)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, Least developed countries: UN classification's arable land (% of land area) rose 0.05 percentage points on 2022 (from 9.69% to 9.74%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was +0.1 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.07 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.8 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.27 percentage points in 1993 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.04 percentage points in 1974. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2014 to 2023 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.07 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 95% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

What this measures

Arable land includes land defined by the FAO as land under temporary crops (double-cropped areas are counted once), temporary meadows for mowing or for pasture, land under market or kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow. Land abandoned as a result of shifting cultivation is excluded.

Limitations: The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) tries to impose standard definitions and reporting methods, but complete consistency across countries and over time is not possible. Thus, data on agricultural land in different climates may not be comparable. For example, permanent pastures are quite different in nature and intensity in African countries and dry Middle Eastern countries. The data collected by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations from official national sources through the questionnaire are supplemented with information from official secondary data sources.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 63 values

Arable land (% of land area) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 11.98% (2024)
• Algeria — 3.16% (2024)
• Bahrain — 2.63% (2024)
• Djibouti — 0.16% (2024)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 3.29% (2024)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 9.68% (2024)
• Iraq — 11.3% (2024)
• Israel — 11.89% (2024)
• Jordan — 2.26% (2024)
• Kuwait — 0.45% (2024)
• Lebanon — 10.79% (2024)
• Libya

More environment data for Least developed countries: UN classification

• Population in the largest city (% of urban population) — 32.86% (2025)
• Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million (% of total population) — 13.73% (2025)
• Rural population — 769.36 million (2025)
• Rural population (% of total population) — 63.36% (2025)
• Urban population — 444.81 million (2025)
• Urban population (% of total population) — 36.64% (2025)
• Aquaculture production (metric tons) — 5.26 million (2024)
• Capture fisheries production (metric tons)

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Questions people ask

What is Least developed countries: UN classification's arable land (% of land area)?

9.74% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1961?

It is up 4.18 percentage points from 5.55% in 1961. The highest value was 9.74% in 2023 and the lowest 5.55% in 1961.

Is the latest change in arable land (% of land area) unusual for Least developed countries: UN classification?

In 2023, Least developed countries: UN classification's arable land (% of land area) rose 0.05 percentage points on 2022 (from 9.69% to 9.74%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was +0.1 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.07 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.8 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator AG.LND.ARBL.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: FAO electronic files and website, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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