Agricultural land covers nearly 40% of Earth, yet its definition remains surprisingly fluid.

Gardening · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: The term agricultural land is a technical category that often includes vast areas not currently used for farming. While it encompasses everything from grazing pastures to orchards, the actual land under annual crops is a smaller fraction. Understanding these distinctions is essential to grasping how we feed a growing population.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) defines agricultural land as a broad collection of arable land, permanent crops, and permanent pastures. This classification is expansive; it includes shrublands and grasslands used for grazing, as well as plantations for coffee or rubber. Because this definition is so wide, it often misleads observers into thinking all such land is actively producing food. In reality, the specific area under annually replanted crops—known as sown or cropped land—is a much smaller subset of the total.

Global trends show a complex picture of land use. As of 2023, agricultural land covered 4.80 billion hectares, a slight decline from the year 2000. While cropland area has seen growth in regions like Africa and Oceania, the global cropland area per capita has fallen by 18% since 2000, as human population growth outpaces the expansion of farming. This shift is compounded by the decline of permanent pastures, partly driven by a move away from wool toward synthetic fibers like polyester.

The economic value of this land varies wildly based on location, quality, and local market dynamics. In Russia, farmland can be acquired for as little as €1,500 per hectare, whereas prime agricultural soil in Illinois was valued at $26,000 per hectare in 2018. These prices are dictated by supply and demand, influenced by government subsidies, tax reliefs, and the fluctuating returns on farm produce. Furthermore, zoning protections, such as the Agricultural Land Reserve in British Columbia, add another layer of complexity by restricting development to ensure land remains available for future agricultural use.

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