Current estimate: Approximately 5,000,000,000 hectares in use. Based on an annual estimate of approximately 5,000,000,000, derived from FAO Land Use Statistics. This is a snapshot figure, not an annual flow.
FAO reports 4.8 billion hectares of agricultural land worldwide, including 3.2 billion hectares of permanent meadows and pastures and 1.6 billion hectares of cropland. A major global food-system study estimates that meat and dairy use about 80% of the agricultural land within its food-production model, including both grazing land and cropland used for animal feed.
At a Glance
FAO agricultural land
4.8 billion ha
Global total, 2023
Permanent pasture
3.2 billion ha
Of FAO agricultural land, 2023
Cropland
1.6 billion ha
Of FAO agricultural land, 2023
Livestock share
About 80%
Of agricultural land in a 2010 food-system model
Key Statistics
Counter display
~5 billion hectares
Rounded static page estimate
FAO pasture share
~67%
3.2B of 4.8B agricultural hectares, 2023
FAO cropland share
~33%
1.6B of 4.8B agricultural hectares, 2023
Livestock-land mix
≈3/4 pasture
Remaining ≈1/4 is cropland in the food-system model
In Depth
What does the 5 billion hectare counter represent?
The counter remains a static, rounded display of global agricultural land in use; it is not an annual flow. FAO's latest comparable global accounting reports 4.8 billion hectares in 2023. This page keeps the existing 5 billion hectare display as a rounded estimate, while the supporting text uses FAO's more precise reference figure.
The most defensible answer has two layers. FAO reports 3.2 billion hectares of permanent meadows and pastures in 2023, land principally used for grazing animals. Animal agriculture also uses cropland to grow feed, but FAO's total-land table does not provide one directly comparable global feed-cropland total. In a separate global food-system model for 2010, around 80% of agricultural land used to produce food is associated with meat and dairy. Because that model uses a different boundary from FAO's current land-use accounting, this page does not turn the percentage into a new FAO-based hectare figure.
Does livestock land include grazing land and feed crops?
Yes. The food-system model counts both pasture used for grazing and cropland used to produce animal feed. Within the land it attributes to meat and dairy, almost three-quarters is pasture and about one-quarter is cropland. That split describes the model's food-production boundary, not a division of all land on Earth or a direct breakdown of FAO's 2023 cropland total.
Livestock land use combines two functions: permanent grassland where animals graze and cropland that produces their feed. Pasture is not interchangeable with crop-suitable land; the food-system analysis notes that pasture definitions and the extent of low-density rangelands vary across datasets. This is why land-use comparisons need their source boundary and denominator stated alongside the percentage.
FAO's current global land-use accounting separates agricultural land into cropland and permanent meadows and pastures; it does not assign every hectare of cropland to its final use.
In FAO's 2023 accounting, permanent meadows and pastures make up about two-thirds of global agricultural land, while cropland makes up about one-third.
Livestock land includes both land animals graze and cropland used to grow their feed. These are different land-use categories and should not be conflated.
The widely cited livestock share comes from a food-system model with a different boundary from FAO's land-use statistics: it covers cropland and pasture used to produce food, while excluding some non-food crop uses.
For that reason, a livestock percentage from the food-system model cannot be converted into a current hectare total simply by multiplying it by FAO's 2023 agricultural-land total.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much land is used for animal agriculture?
FAO reports 3.2 billion hectares of permanent meadows and pastures in 2023, land principally used for grazing animals. Animal agriculture also uses cropland for feed. A separate 2010 food-system model estimates that about 80% of the agricultural land it counts for food production is associated with meat and dairy, but its boundary differs from FAO's current land-use accounting, so the percentage should not be multiplied by FAO's 4.8 billion hectare total.
What percentage of agricultural land is used for livestock?
About 80% in the Poore and Nemecek global food-system model, as presented by Our World in Data. The denominator is agricultural land used to produce food within that model—not all global land, all habitable land, or FAO's current agricultural-land total.
Does livestock land include grazing land and feed crops?
Yes. The model's livestock land includes both pasture used for grazing and cropland used to grow feed. Almost three-quarters of the livestock land in that model is pasture and about one-quarter is cropland.
How much agricultural land is there in the world?
FAO reports 4.8 billion hectares of agricultural land in 2023: 3.2 billion hectares of permanent meadows and pastures and 1.6 billion hectares of cropland. The page's 5 billion hectare counter is a rounded, static presentation of that global scale, not an annual flow.
Why does livestock farming require so much land?
It uses both permanent grazing land and cropland that produces animal feed. These are different land categories, and pasture is not automatically suitable for crops; source definitions and denominators matter when comparing livestock land use with other land uses.
Reference year: Not recorded in this source record
This source reports a snapshot estimate. The page displays it as a static count, not as an annual rate or a direct real-time measurement from the source organization.
FAO's 2025 land-statistics release reports 4.8 billion hectares of agricultural land in 2023: 1.6 billion hectares of cropland and 3.2 billion hectares of permanent meadows and pastures. The page's 5 billion hectare counter is retained as a rounded static display, not recalculated from this release.
The about-80% livestock figure comes from a global food-system analysis based on 2010 production data, using a boundary of cropland and pasture used to produce food. It includes grazing land and feed cropland, but differs from FAO's land-use accounting by excluding some non-food crop uses and applying different pasture definitions. It is therefore contextual evidence, not a replacement for the page's counter or a percentage calculated from FAO's 2023 total.