THE WORLD’S CEREAL AND FOOD-CROPS 37 
Percentage of Land occupied with cultivation of Cereals 
and Food-Crops 
Country. 
Czecho-Slovakia 
Denmark 
Germany 
Italy . 
Belgium 
British India 
Japan . 
Austria 
Sweden . 
Argentine 
Per cent. 
431 
341 
303 
28-1 
277 
27-0 
107 
~ 
Country. 
Fr. Morocco . 
Switzerland . 
South Africa. 
Canada 
Egypt 
New Zealand 
Chile . 
Australia 
Tunis . 
World . 
Per cent. 
4:0 
39 
2-25 
2-0 
1-8 
14 
07 
0-4 
0-1 
7:66 
For the world-average, the percentage of the arable 
land used for cereals and food-crops is 76-8, that is, 
69-2 for cereals, plus 7-6 for other food-crops; hence 
at the present time these may be taken as about 7:66 
per cent. of the world’s total land-area. The question 
arises, “How much may this be increased?” The 
answer to this question depends, however, upon the 
standard-of-living assumed to be necessary, and upon 
future advances in the art of agriculture. The matter 
will be referred to again later. It is sufficient here to 
observe that, as any population-limit is approached, 
the poorer lands will necessarily be more and more 
included in the agricultural areas. In this connection 
it is proper to note again that out of the recorded total 
of 24-13 million square miles of the earth’s surface, no 
less an area than 6-25 million square miles are classed 
as “unproductive,” and 10-35 million square miles are 
“ unspecified ”’: this out of a total land-area of 52-5 
million square miles. There is reason to believe, 
however, that the areas, of which there are no records,