Arable land (% of land area)

Definition

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.

Methodology for Agriculture indicators

Agricultural indicators are compiled by the FAO and national agriculture ministries. Many are reported as percentages (share of land, share of GDP, share of employment) so per-capita normalization is rarely needed. Weather-driven variability means single-year readings can be misleading — a 5-year rolling average is often more meaningful than a single point.

How to interpret

• Always check the unit and reporting year before comparing values across countries.
• NULL or "Not available" means the World Bank did not publish a value — we never estimate.
• Year-over-year changes can be driven by methodology updates, not just real economic shifts.