Check Farm Size in Pakistan: 11.10 Million Farms Average Just 5.3 Acres

Short answer: The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) counted 11.10 million farms on 59.30 million acres in its 2024 Agricultural Census. The average farm is 5.3 acres. Punjab has the most farms, 5.05 million, and Balochistan has the biggest, at 16.1 acres on average.

Ask ten farmers in Pakistan how much land they have, and most will say a few acres. The census backs that up. This is the first time the country counted its farms on tablets, with a map point for each one, and the numbers are now public.

We opened the PBS National Report of the 7th Agricultural Census 2024, dated June 2026, on 14 October 2026. Every figure below comes from its main findings and its Tables 1.0 to 2.1. Percentages marked "our sum" are our own arithmetic on those tables.

Pakistan has 11.10 million farms on 59.30 million acres

PBS counted 11.10 million farms with a combined 59.30 million acres. Of that land, 52.79 million acres is cultivated. The average farm is 5.3 acres, and the average cultivated area per farm is 4.8 acres.

Cultivated land is land that was sown at least once in the census year or the year before. Net sown area is 50.90 million acres, and current fallow is 1.89 million acres. So 96 percent of cultivated land was actually sown. Punjab uses its land best at 98 percent, and Balochistan least at 92 percent.

Four out of five farms are smaller than 5 acres

Farms under 5 acres number 8.70 million, which is 78 percent of all farms (our sum). Together they hold 33 percent of the farm land. At the other end, 16,958 farms of 100 acres or more hold 6.2 percent of the land.

The split is lopsided in both directions. One in four farms is under one acre. That is 2.82 million holdings, and they sit on only 3.5 percent of the land. The table below follows PBS Table 1.1.

The last three rows combine PBS bands, so the sums are ours. Small holdings matter for schemes that have an acreage cap. A cap such as "up to 25 acres" covers almost every farm in the country, because farms above 25 acres are only 1.3 percent of the total (our sum).

Punjab has the most farms and Balochistan the biggest

Punjab holds 5.05 million farms, 45 percent of the country, and 52 percent of the farm land. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has 3.58 million farms but only 2.5 acres each. Balochistan has just 0.63 million farms, averaging 16.1 acres, the largest in Pakistan.

The gap between provinces explains why one farm policy never fits all. A Khyber Pakhtunkhwa farmer with 2.5 acres and a Balochistan farmer with 16 acres face different costs. Inputs such as seed and fertiliser matter more per acre on small plots. Water and machinery matter more on big ones.

Wheat covers 35.82 million acres, the largest crop by far. Punjab alone grows 58 percent of it. For the season ahead, read the national plan in the proposed 33 million tonne wheat target for Rabi 2026-27.

Nine in ten farms are run by their owners

Owners operate 9.81 million of the 11.10 million farms, or 88 percent (our sum), and 47.77 million of the 59.30 million acres. Tenants alone run 0.76 million farms. Owner-cum-tenants, who farm some land they own and some they rent, run 0.52 million.

Tenancy is far more common in Sindh than elsewhere. Sindh has 0.23 million tenant farms out of 1.83 million, about 13 percent. Punjab has 0.34 million out of 5.05 million, about 7 percent. Tenant farms are also bigger on average: 5.38 million acres on 0.76 million farms is about 7.1 acres each, against 4.9 acres on an owner farm (our sum).

This matters when you apply for support. Most schemes ask for ownership papers or a land record. A tenant usually cannot show them. If you rent land, ask the scheme office early which paper it accepts from a tenant. The page on the Punjab Kissan Card shows how land records enter that process.

Almost half of farms are split into several pieces

PBS found that 4.98 million farms, 45 percent of the total, are split into more than one separate piece of land. Those farms have 34.4 million pieces between them. A fragmented farm has seven pieces on average.

A farm in several pieces costs more to run. Water has to reach each plot. Machines move between them. Boundaries are a common reason for family disputes. The other 6.12 million farms are in one block.

The smallest farms show the most extreme case. PBS Table 2.1 lists 844,002 farms under one acre that are split, with ten pieces each on average. The census counts the pieces and does not give reasons for the splits.

Use the census to check your own farm

You can compare your own farm with these national numbers in five short steps. It takes about ten minutes with your land record at hand. This is a self check, not an official ranking, because the census does not list individual owners.

1. Write down the total area of your holding in acres from your land record.
2. Find your size band in the table above and note the share of farms in that band.
3. Compare your acreage with your province's average farm.
4. Count how many separate plots you farm. More than seven means you are above the national average for split farms.
5. Note whether the land is owned or rented, since support schemes treat the two differently.

If you farm under 5 acres, you are in the group that makes up 78 percent of the country. Small farmers can look at the Zarkhez-e farm loan with no collateral before they accept a loan from a local lender.

Common questions

How many farms are there in Pakistan?

PBS counted 11.10 million farms in its Agricultural Census 2024. They cover 59.30 million acres in total.

What is the average farm size in Pakistan?

The national average is 5.3 acres per farm. Cultivated land averages 4.8 acres per farm.

Which province has the biggest farms?

Balochistan, with an average of 16.1 acres. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has the smallest at 2.5 acres.

How many farms are run by tenants?

Tenants alone run 0.76 million farms. Another 0.52 million are run by owner-cum-tenants who farm both owned and rented land.

When was the census done and who published it?

PBS did the field work in two phases, September to November 2024 in cold areas and January to February 2025 in the rest of the country. It published the national report in June 2026.

Can I look up my own farm in the census?

No. The census reports totals by province and size band only. It does not publish names or individual farms.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

Last checked on 14 October 2026, Pakistan time. We read the PBS "Agricultural Census 2024, National Report" (PDF dated June 2026), linked from the PBS Agricultural Census page, including Tables 1 to 3 in the main findings and Tables 1.0, 1.1, 1.3 and 2.1 in the annex. PBS notes that figures may not add up because of rounding. Shares marked "our sum" are our own arithmetic. The census gives the farm count at the time of the count, and later changes are not included.