Country agriculture profile · East Asia & Pacific
Australia
Australia is a highly commercialized, export-oriented agricultural producer operating across one of the driest inhabited continents. Broadacre grain and livestock enterprises dominate by area, and the country is a leading exporter of wheat, barley, wool, beef, and cotton. Farming is characterized by large holdings, low input intensity per hectare, high mechanization, and pronounced exposure to drought and climate variability.
Farming systems (stable overview)
Climate zones
- Arid and semi-arid interior
- Mediterranean (southern and southwestern margins)
- Temperate (southeast and Tasmania)
- Subtropical to tropical (north and northeast)
Agroecological zones
- Southern wheat-sheep belt
- Northern and interior grazing rangelands
- High-rainfall temperate coastal zones
- Murray-Darling Basin irrigation districts
Dominant crop systems
- Rainfed winter cereals (wheat and barley) and canola across the southern grain belt
- Irrigated cotton and rice in the Murray-Darling Basin
- Sugarcane along the tropical Queensland coast
- Wine grapes, horticulture, and pulses
Major livestock systems
- Extensive rangeland beef cattle across the north and interior
- Merino and prime-lamb sheep for wool and meat in the temperate south
- Pasture-based dairy in high-rainfall southern zones
Irrigation: Irrigation is concentrated in the Murray-Darling Basin and depends on highly variable surface-water allocations managed through water-trading markets.
Latest verified data
Each value is the most recent available observation, shown with its own year and unit. Figures are periodically revised — treat them as dated, sourced statistics, not evergreen facts.
| Indicator | Value | Unit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agricultural land | 47.22 | % of land area | 2023 |
| Agricultural land area | 3,632,436.78 | sq. km | 2023 |
| Cereal yield | 2,689.7 | kg per hectare | 2024 |
| Cereal production | 52,350,446.71 | metric tons | 2024 |
| Livestock production index | 87.48 | index (2014–2016 = 100) | 2022 |
| Agriculture value added | 2.04 | % of GDP | 2024 |
| Average precipitation | 534 | mm per year | 2022 |
| Irrigated agricultural land | 0.54 | % of agricultural land | 2023 |
Source: World Bank Open Data (World Development Indicators) (opens in a new tab) · dataset version 2026-07-01 · retrieved 2026-07-12
Cereal yield over time
Show data table
| Year | kg per hectare |
|---|---|
| 2013 | 2,194.3 |
| 2014 | 1,999.1 |
| 2015 | 2,098 |
| 2016 | 2,670.4 |
| 2017 | 2,043.5 |
| 2018 | 1,818.2 |
| 2019 | 1,665.8 |
| 2020 | 2,515.9 |
| 2021 | 2,817 |
| 2022 | 3,277.8 |
| 2023 | 2,690.9 |
| 2024 | 2,689.7 |
Source: World Bank Open Data (World Development Indicators) (opens in a new tab) · dataset version 2026-07-01 · retrieved 2026-07-12
Derived indicator
Arable land as a share of agricultural land: 8.5 % of agricultural land (2023)
Derived value — formula arable-share-of-agricultural-land v1.0.0 (calc v1). Inputs: AG.LND.ARBL.ZS (4.0) ÷ AG.LND.AGRI.ZS (47.2). A derived ratio, not an observed statistic. Sensitive to rounding and to differing revision cycles of the two source series; omit rather than extrapolate when a common year is unavailable.
Documented crops & livestock
Agricultural institutions
- Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) — Government research and economic-analysis bureau within the federal agriculture department.
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) — National science agency with major agriculture and food research programs.
- Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) — Statutory corporation investing in grains research, development, and extension.
Data coverage & limitations
Covered by the World Bank WDI snapshots for land, production, yield, economy, inputs, and environment indicators.
- Statistics are dated, versioned, and periodically revised; single-year figures should not be read as a fixed baseline.
- National definitions of agricultural land, holdings, and commodities differ from those used by other countries, limiting direct comparison.
- Most agricultural land is low-productivity grazing rangeland, so land-area shares overstate the intensity of cropping.
- Severe drought cycles cause large year-to-year swings in production, making any single season potentially unrepresentative.
Sources
This article draws on the following authoritative sources. See our sources & methodology for how they are selected.
- Authoritative
Cited for: Agricultural statistics (WDI)
- Type:
- Intergovernmental organization
- Jurisdiction:
- Global
- Accessed:
- 2026-07-12
- [2]FAO — Food and Agriculture Organization (opens in a new tab)Authoritative
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Cited for: Production, land-use, and commodity context
- Type:
- Intergovernmental organization
- Jurisdiction:
- Global
- Accessed:
- 2026-07-12