(Frick/Bonn, February 11, 2025) The global organic farming area expanded by 2.6 percent in 2023, bringing the total to 98.9 million hectares, managed by 4.3 million organic producers. Retail sales of organic food also increased, exceeding 136 billion euros. These latest statistics, featured in the 26th edition of the yearbook The World of Organic Agriculture, will be presented by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL and IFOAM – Organics International on Tuesday, February 11, 2025, from 5:00 to 6:00 PM at BIOFACH, the world's leading trade fair for organic food, held in Nuremberg, Germany.
Highlights from The World of Organic Agriculture
Organic farmland increases by 2.5 million hectares
- By the end of 2023, 98.9 million hectares were managed organically, marking a 2.6 percent increase (+2.5 million hectares) from 2022.
- Latin America experienced the largest increase, adding 1 million hectares (10.8 percent growth), while Africa recorded the highest relative growth, expanding by 24 percent to reach 3.4 million hectares.
- Oceania remains the leading region for organic farming, with 53.2 million hectares, accounting for more than half of the global organic area. It is followed by Europe, which has 19.5 million hectares, and Latin America, with 10.3 million hectares.
- By country, Australia leads with 53 million hectares, followed by India (4.5 million hectares) and Argentina (4 million hectares).
Liechtenstein is the country with the highest organic area share
- Globally, 2.1 percent of agricultural land was managed organically in 2023.
- Liechtenstein led with 44.6 percent of its agricultural land under organic management, followed by Austria (27.3 percent ) and Uruguay (25.4 percent).
- A total of 22 countries reported that 10 percent or more of their agricultural land was organic.
More than 2 million organic producers in India
- In 2023, there were 4.3 million organic producers worldwide.
- India remains the country with the most organic producers (2.36 million).
- Notable increases were observed in Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and Burkina Faso.
Global market continued to grow; Switzerland tops per capita consumption
- The global market for organic products reached 136.4 billion euros in 2023. The European market recorded the strongest growth, with many countries recovering from the negative trend in 2022.
- The United States retained its position as the largest market (59.0 billion euros), followed by Germany (16.1 billion euros) and China (12.6 billion euros).
- Switzerland recorded the highest per capita spending on organic food (468 euros), while Denmark led with the largest organic market share (11.8 percent of its total food market).
- Retail sales increased significantly in Estonia (+13.0 percent) and the Netherlands (+12.5 percent). The two largest markets – the United States and Germany experienced growth rates of 3.4 and 5.0 percent, respectively.
Organic farming remains on a successful path: In 2023, organic farming continued to expand, with increases in cultivated land, markets, and international trade—albeit at a moderate pace. Africa showed particularly dynamic growth, with a significant increase in organic farmland, while some European markets recorded double-digit growth rates. The market has recovered noticeably, and the numbers speak for themselves: the importance of organic farming continues to grow steadily.
Publication and data
The yearbook, jointly published by FiBL and IFOAM – Organics International, is supported by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the Coop Sustainability Fund, Bio Suisse and NürnbergMesse, the organiser of BIOFACH. Data was collected from 188 countries.
Further information
Contacts
- Helga Willer, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL
Ravi R. Prasad, IFOAM – Organics International,
Charles-de-Gaulle-Strasse 5, 53113 Bonn, Germany
r.prasad(at)ifoam.bio, www.ifoam.bio
Download The World of Organic Agriculture
The yearbook can be downloaded at the FiBL Shope (item number 1797).
Graphs and infographics can be downloaded at Organic-World.net.
- fibl.org: The World of Organic Agriculture 2025
- organic-world.net: Graphs and infographics
Sessions at BIOFACH
Session "The World of Organic Agriculture – Latest Statistics"
Tuesday, February 11, 2025, 5 to 6 pm, Room Shanghai (NCC East), Forum Biofach, BIOFACH Congress, NürnbergMesse
- Ravi Prasad, IFOAM - Organics International: Facilitator
- Helga Willer, Forschungsinstitut für biologischen Landbau FiBL, Switzerland
- Gábor Figeczky, IFOAM - Organics International, Bonn, Germany
- Marco Kräuchi, State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO, Switzerland
- Amarjit Sahota, Ecovia Intelligence, London, UK
biofach.fibl.org: Info
Session "Global Organic Market Overview" on February 12, 2025
Wednesday, February 12, 2025, 3:00 to 4:30 pm CET, Room St Petersburg (NCC East), Forum Biofach, BIOFACH Congress, NürnbergMesse
- Ravi R. Prasad, Director, IFOAM – Organics International: Facilitator
- Helga Willer, Scientist, FiBL - Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, Switzerland
- Eduardo Cuoco, Director, IFOAM Organics Europe, Brussels, Belgium
- Joanna Wierzbicka, Deputy Director, IFOAM Organics Europe, Brussels, Belgium
- Thales Mendonça, Global Relationship Manager, Inter-Continental Network of Organic Farmer Organisations (INOFO)
- Tom Chapman, CEO, Organic Trade Association, USA
- Tia Loftsgard, Executive Director, Canada Organic Trade Association, Canada
- Josefine Pettersen, Operations and Technical Manager, Australian Organic Limited, Australia
- Youting Zhang, Executive Vice President, Organic and Beyond Corporation, China
biofach.fibl.org: Info
Download
Media kit including this media release and further data and graphs (825.0 KB)
Media kit including this media release and further data and graphs (6.4 MB)