Small states: Agricultural land (% of land area)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, Small states' agricultural land (% of land area) fell 0.28 percentage points on 2022 (from 12.28% to 11.99%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was −0.01 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.15 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.9 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 1.28 percentage points in 1992 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.4 percentage points in 1975. 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 downward, about 0.05 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 69% 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

Agricultural land refers to the share of land area that is arable, under permanent crops, and under permanent pastures. 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. Land under permanent crops is land cultivated with crops that occupy the land for long periods and need not be replanted after each harvest, such as cocoa, coffee, and rubber. This category includes land under flowering shrubs, fruit trees, nut trees, and vines, but excludes land under trees grown for wood or timber. Permanent pasture is land used for five or more years for forage, including natural and cultivated crops.

Limitations: The data are collected by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) from official national sources through annual questionnaires and are supplemented with information from official secondary data sources. The secondary sources cover official country data from websites of national ministries, national publications and related country data reported by various international organizations.. The 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.

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

All 63 values

Agricultural land (% of land area) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 58.39% (2024)
• Algeria — 17.35% (2024)
• Bahrain — 10.29% (2024)
• Djibouti — 73.53% (2024)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 4.25% (2024)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 29.01% (2024)
• Iraq — 21.65% (2024)
• Israel — 23.79% (2024)
• Jordan — 11.57% (2024)
• Kuwait — 8.42% (2024)
• Lebanon

More environment data for Small states

• Rural population — 9.75 million (2025)
• Rural population (% of total population) — 47.9% (2025)
• Urban population — 10.6 million (2025)
• Urban population (% of total population) — 52.1% (2025)
• Fossil fuel energy consumption (% of total) — 74.68% (2024)
• Aquaculture production (metric tons) — 122,601 (2024)
• Capture fisheries production (metric tons) — 2.6 million (2024)
• Total fisheries production (metric tons) — 2.72 million (2024)
• Rural population growth (annual %) — 0.39% (2025)
• Urban population growth (annual %)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Small states's agricultural land (% of land area)?

11.99% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1961?

It is down 0.27 percentage points from 12.27% in 1961. The highest value was 12.88% in 2006 and the lowest 10.87% in 1983.

Is the latest change in agricultural land (% of land area) unusual for Small states?

In 2023, Small states' agricultural land (% of land area) fell 0.28 percentage points on 2022 (from 12.28% to 11.99%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was −0.01 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.15 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.9 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator AG.LND.AGRI.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: FAO electronic files and web site, 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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