Artificial surfaces (including urban and associated areas) — Area in European Union (27)

European Union (27): Artificial surfaces (including urban and associated areas) — Area was 11,122 1000 ha in 2024. ▬ Flat

Latest (2024)
11,122 1000 ha
Change on year
down 0.0%
Rank
7th
of 26 groups
All-time high
11,123 1000 ha
in 2022
All-time low
10,925 1000 ha
in 2001
Years of data
24
2001–2024

Artificial surfaces (including urban and associated areas) — Area in European Union (27), 2001–2024

02.5k5.0k7.5k10.0k2001201220242001: 10.9k 1000 ha2002: 11.0k 1000 ha2003: 11.0k 1000 ha2004: 11.0k 1000 ha2005: 11.0k 1000 ha2006: 11.0k 1000 ha2007: 11.0k 1000 ha2008: 11.0k 1000 ha2009: 11.0k 1000 ha2010: 11.1k 1000 ha2011: 11.1k 1000 ha2012: 11.1k 1000 ha2013: 11.1k 1000 ha2014: 11.1k 1000 ha2015: 11.1k 1000 ha2016: 11.1k 1000 ha2017: 11.1k 1000 ha2018: 11.1k 1000 ha2019: 11.1k 1000 ha2020: 11.1k 1000 ha2021: 11.1k 1000 ha2022: 11.1k 1000 ha2023: 11.1k 1000 ha2024: 11.1k 1000 ha

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.

Analysis

In 2024, artificial surfaces (including urban and associated areas) — area in European Union (27) stood at 11,122 1000 ha.

The figure is up 0.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, artificial surfaces (including urban and associated areas) — area in European Union (27) peaked at 11,123 1000 ha in 2022 and was at its lowest, 10,925 1000 ha, in 2001.

That places European Union (27) 7th out of 26 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.

Artificial surfaces (including urban and associated areas) — Area in European Union (27), year by year

Annual values for Artificial surfaces (including urban and associated areas) — Area from MODIS in European Union (27), 2001 to 2024.
Year 1000 ha Change
2001 10,925 1000 ha
2002 10,995 1000 ha +0.6%
2003 11,016 1000 ha +0.2%
2004 11,019 1000 ha +0.0%
2005 11,026 1000 ha +0.1%
2006 11,034 1000 ha +0.1%
2007 11,036 1000 ha +0.0%
2008 11,041 1000 ha +0.0%
2009 11,050 1000 ha +0.1%
2010 11,058 1000 ha +0.1%
2011 11,064 1000 ha +0.1%
2012 11,067 1000 ha +0.0%
2013 11,067 1000 ha -0.0%
2014 11,063 1000 ha -0.0%
2015 11,068 1000 ha +0.0%
2016 11,068 1000 ha -0.0%
2017 11,074 1000 ha +0.1%
2018 11,089 1000 ha +0.1%
2019 11,106 1000 ha +0.2%
2020 11,112 1000 ha +0.1%
2021 11,115 1000 ha +0.0%
2022 11,123 1000 ha +0.1%
2023 11,123 1000 ha -0.0%
2024 11,122 1000 ha -0.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 11,016 1000 ha 10,925 1000 ha 11,050 1000 ha 9
2010s 11,072 1000 ha 11,058 1000 ha 11,106 1000 ha 10
2020s 11,119 1000 ha 11,112 1000 ha 11,123 1000 ha 5

Countries ranked near European Union (27)

  1. 4 India 3,952 1000 ha compare
  2. 5 Japan 3,409 1000 ha compare
  3. 6 Russian Federation 3,155 1000 ha compare
  4. 7 Germany 2,597 1000 ha compare
  5. 8 Argentina 1,761 1000 ha compare
  6. 9 Italy 1,587 1000 ha compare
  7. 10 Indonesia 1,570 1000 ha compare

See the full ranking of 269 places →

More environment data for European Union (27)

All data for European Union (27) →

Frequently asked questions

What is artificial surfaces (including urban and associated areas) — area in European Union (27)?
Artificial surfaces (including urban and associated areas) — area in European Union (27) was 11,122 1000 ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest artificial surfaces (including urban and associated areas) — area recorded in European Union (27)?
The highest recorded value was 11,123 1000 ha in 2022.
What is the lowest artificial surfaces (including urban and associated areas) — area recorded in European Union (27)?
The lowest recorded value was 10,925 1000 ha in 2001.
How does European Union (27) rank for artificial surfaces (including urban and associated areas) — area?
European Union (27) ranks 7th out of 26 groups with data for 2024.
Is artificial surfaces (including urban and associated areas) — area rising or falling in European Union (27)?
Over the last ten years it is up 0.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this European Union (27) data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Artificial surfaces (including urban and associated areas) — Area from MODIS. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Artificial surfaces (including urban and associated areas) — Area in European Union (27). Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 24 August 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/artificial-surfaces-including-urban-and-associated-areas-area-from-modis/european-union-27/

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About this data

Indicator
Artificial surfaces (including urban and associated areas) — Area from MODIS
Unit
1000 ha
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
269 places, 6,390 data points, 2001–2024
Last refreshed

The FAOSTAT domain on Land Cover data under the Agri-Environmental Indicators section contains land cover information organized by the land cover classes of the international standard system for Environmental and Economic Accounting Central Framework (SEEA CF). The land cover information is compiled from publicly available Global Land Cover (GLC) maps: a) MODIS land cover types based on the Land Cover Classification System, LCCS; b) The European Spatial Agency (ESA) Climate Change Initiative (CCI) annual land cover maps produced by the Université catholique de Louvain (UCL)-Geomatics and now under the European Copernicus Program; c) The annual land cover maps which were produced under the European Copernicus Global Land Service (CGLS) (CGLS land cover, containing discrete land cover categorization), with spatial resolution 100m; and d) the WorldCover maps of the European Space Agency, produced at 10m resolution.