United Arab Emirates's arable land (hectares) was 56,244 in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 27.83% from 44,000 in 2014 (2.49% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 56,244 | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 49,900 | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | 44,000 | 2014 |
| Highest | 75,000 | 2002 |
| Lowest | 5,000 | 1961 |
| Average since 2015 | 48,721 | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 5,000 | 1961 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, United Arab Emirates' arable land (hectares) rose 0.5% on 2023 (from 55,984 to 56,244).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +1.8% and a typical year strayed about 12% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 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 39.5% in 2000 and the biggest yearly fall was 20% in 1998. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is upward, about 1,468 a year. A straight line explains 83% 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.
A straight-line projection, tested first
Extending that straight line gives about 59,522 for 2027. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2022 to 2024 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 2,953, against 3,904 for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.
See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.
How it compares
In 2024, United Arab Emirates had the 156th highest value of the 205 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
Closest to United Arab Emirates in the 2024 ranking
- Mauritius — 153rd of 205: 70,620
- Luxembourg — 154th of 205: 61,284
- Puerto Rico (US) — 155th of 205: 58,760
- Comoros — 157th of 205: 55,350
- Suriname — 158th of 205: 55,000
- Equatorial Guinea — 159th of 205: 53,000
What this measures
Arable land (in hectares) 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.
All 64 values
| Year | Arable land (hectares) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 56,244 |
| 2023 | 55,984 |
| 2022 | 50,384 |
| 2021 | 50,300 |
| 2020 | 49,000 |
| 2019 | 49,900 |
| 2018 | 42,300 |
| 2017 | 44,500 |
| 2016 | 44,500 |
| 2015 | 44,100 |
| 2014 |
Arable land (hectares) in nearby economies
- Afghanistan — 7.81 million (2024)
- Algeria — 7.53 million (2024)
- Bahrain — 2,100 (2024)
- Djibouti — 3,617 (2024)
- Egypt, Arab Rep. — 3.27 million (2024)
- Iran, Islamic Rep. — 15.7 million (2024)
- Iraq — 4.9 million (2024)
- Israel — 257,400 (2024)
- Jordan — 201,000 (2024)
- Kuwait — 8,000 (2024)
- Lebanon — 110,340 (2024)
- Libya — 1.72 million (2024)
More environment data for United Arab Emirates
- Population in largest city — 3.09 million (2025)
- Population in the largest city (% of urban population) — 31.27% (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million — 6.62 million (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million (% of total population) — 57.53% (2025)
- Rural population — 1.62 million (2025)
- Rural population (% of total population) — 14.04% (2025)
- Urban population — 9.9 million (2025)
- Urban population (% of total population) — 85.96% (2025)
- Aquaculture production (metric tons)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is United Arab Emirates's arable land (hectares)?
- 56,244 in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1961?
- It is up 1,025% from 5,000 in 1961 (3.92% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 75,000 in 2002 and the lowest 5,000 in 1961.
- How does United Arab Emirates rank?
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator AG.LND.ARBL.HA, 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.
Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.
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