This is a guide about how much land there is on earth.
Below we’ve outlined some of the more important land quantity and land usage stats such as total land, habitable land, agricultural land and arable land.
We’ve also noted what arable land is used for, and countries that have the most cultivated land in total.
Note that these numbers are estimates, and are to be used as a general guide only.
Summary – How Much Land Is There On Earth? What Do We Use It For?
% of Earth’s total surface that is land
About 29% of the total surface of the earth is land (the rest is water)
Types of land
Of that, there is habitable land (that we can live on) and non habitable land, and agricultural (including land that livestock can be farmed on) and arable land (more fertile land with topsoil for growing crops).
Other types of land include urban, forests, shrubs, and surface water
% of agricultural and arable land
About 37% of the Earth’s land surface is agricultural land, and 11% arable
% of land used for livestock vs crops
Most of the agricultural land we use is used for livestock (about 77%), and a much smaller % is used for crops (about 23%)
Of the land used for crops, some types of crops like rice paddy, wheat and soybean crops are more prevalent, or are responsible for producing more money than others
Plant based food vs meat and dairy when meeting the world’s caloric and protein consumption supply
Surprisingly though, most of the World’s caloric consumption supply comes from plant based food, and most of the protein consumption supply comes from plant based food as well (as opposed to dairy and meat)
How much farmable land is left of Earth, and it’s suitability
There is still some farmable land left on Earth, but there could be challenges in accessing it, challenges in trying to farm on it
The top 3 countries with the most total cultivated land right now are …
1. India, 2. United States, 3. China, 4. Russia, and 5. Brazil
How Much Land Is There On Earth/In The World In Total?
Of the land’s total surface, about 29% of that surface is land, and 71% is ocean
The quantities that make up those %’s are:
Land – 149 million km², or 92.5 million mi.²
Ocean – 361 million km², or 224.3 million mi.²
– OurWorldInData/FAO
You can read more about the how much water there is on earth in this guide.
The US Department of Agriculture has identified six major types of land use in the US.
Acreage statistics for each type of land use in the contiguous 48 states in 2017 were as follows:
Pasture/range: 654 M
Forest: 538.6 M
Cropland: 391.5 M
Special use: 168.8 M
Miscellaneous: 68.9 M
Urban: 69.4 M
– wikipedia.org
How Much Habitable Land Is There On Earth?
About 71% of the total land surface on earth is habitable, with the rest being glaciers (10%) and barren land (19%).
The quantities that make up those %’s are:
Habitable Land – 104 million km², or 64.6 million mi.²
Glaciers – 15 million km², or 9.32 million mi.²
Barren Land – 28 million km², 17.3 million mi.²
– OurWorldInData/FAO
How Much Agricultural/Farmable Land Is There On Earth?
Agricultural land includes arable land for crops, but also land that can be used for rearing livestock.
According to World Bank data, in 2015:
… approximately 37% of the world’s land surface was agricultural land.
– data.worldbank.org
Roughly between 32 and 36 million square kilometers (12 and 14 million square miles) of land is used to raise livestock
– Sciencing/University of Wisconsin-Madison
How Much Arable Land Is There On Earth?
Arable land just includes land that can be used for growing crops (and not livestock rearing land).
According to World Bank data, in 2015:
… approximately almost 11% of the world’s land surface was arable land.
– data.worldbank.org
Approximately 17.6 million square kilometers (6.8 million square miles) of land is used to grow crops
– Sciencing/University of Wisconsin-Madison
What Is The World’s Habitable Land Used For?
About 50% of the world’s habitable land is used for agriculture, 37% for forests, 11% for shrubland, 1% for urban development, and 1% is freshwater
– OurWorldInData/FAO
The quantities that make up those %’s are:
Agriculture – 51 million km², or 31.6 million mi.²
Forests – 39 million km², or 24.2 million mi.²
Shrubs – 12 million km², or 7.4 million mi.²
Urban – 1.5 million km², or 0.93 million mi.²
Freshwater – 1.5 million km², or 0.93 million mi.²
What Is The World’s Agricultural Land Used For?
Of the world’s land that is used for agriculture, about 77% is used for livestock rearing/meat and dairy production, and 23% is used for growing crops.
– OurWorldInData/FAO
The quantities that make up those %’s are:
Livestock – 40 million km², or 24.8 million mi.²
Crops – 11 million km², or 6.83 million mi.²
Even with the above numbers, it’s interesting to note that 83% of the world’s caloric consumption supply comes from plant based food, whilst only 17% comes from meat and dairy production.
Likewise, about 67% of the world’s protein consumption supply comes from plant based food, whilst only 33% comes from meat and dairy.
– OurWorldInData/FAO
Current estimates (as of 2017) put the remaining amount of farmable land at about:
… 27 million square kilometers (10.5 million square miles), most of which is concentrated in Africa and Central and South America.
– Sciencing
Of course, population growth significantly affects how much land we can, or are using, for agriculture at any one time.
What Is The World’s Arable Land Used For?
You can view a list of the world’s most valuable crops, and crop production by metric tonnes here (wikipedia.org)
In order, some of the top value producing crops are (not including meat and dairy):
1. Rice, paddy
Wheat
Soybean
Tomatoes
Sugarcane
Maize (corn)
Potatoes
Vegetables (not listed elsewhere)
Grapes
Cotton
Apples
Bananas
Cassava (yuca)
Mangos, Mangosteens, Guava
Coffee
Palm Oil
Onion, dry
Beans, dry and green
Peanuts
20. Olives
– Wikipedia/FAO
What Do Different Countries Use Their Cultivated Land For?
You can view a list of land use statistics by country here (wikipedia.org)
In order, the countries with the most total cultivated land area are:
1. India
United States
China
Russia
Brazil
Canada
Australia
Indonesia
Nigeria
Argentina
Ukraine
Sudan
Mexico
Kazakhstan
Turkey
Pakistan
France
Thailand
Iran
20. Ethiopia
– Wikipedia/CIA World Factbook
Will We Have Enough Agricultural Land To Grow Food In The Future?
Read more in this guide about the future availability and capacity of agricultural land to grow/produce food into the future.
Sources
1. https://ourworldindata.org/agricultural-land-by-global-diets ( by Hannah Ritchie)
2. https://data.worldbank.org/
3. https://sciencing.com/much-earths-land-farmable-16685.html
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_valuable_crops_and_livestock_products
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_use_statistics_by_country
6. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/AG.LND.AGRI.ZS
7. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/AG.LND.ARBL.ZS?view=chart
8. https://www.bettermeetsreality.com/how-much-land-in-the-world-is-used-for-agriculture-do-we-have-enough-arable-agricultural-land-left-for-food-other-resources-in-the-future/
