S. Korea's arable land shrinks for 13th year in 2025

▲ This undated file photo shows a machine harvesting rice at a paddy in the city of Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province. (Yonhap)

arable land-2025 tally

S. Korea's arable land shrinks for 13th year in 2025

SEOUL, Feb. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's total arable land dropped for the 13th consecutive year in 2025, as rice paddies continued to shrink amid declining rice consumption, government data showed Friday.

The country's arable land totaled 1.50 million hectares as of end-2025, down 0.3 percent from the previous year, according to the data by the Ministry of Data and Statistics.

Arable land in Asia's fourth-largest economy has been declining since 2013, largely due to falling rice consumption. Rice has traditionally been a staple food for Koreans.

Total rice paddy area dipped 0.7 percent on-year to 755,952 hectares last year, accounting for 50.4 percent of the total, down 0.2 percentage point from a year earlier.

The data is based on an analysis of satellite images taken between May and November last year.

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