Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces by country
The land cover dataset provides a global assessment of land cover and land cover change to monitor pressures on ecosystems and biodiversity. By using geospatial data with high spatio-temporal resolution, it develops a set of internationally comparable indicators with a long time series and a five-year interval from...
Countries reporting
172
Highest
136,872 Square kilometres
OECD
Lowest
125.67 Square kilometres
Estonia
Median
418.12 Square kilometres
Years covered
18
2005–2022
Data points
4,890
What the numbers show
Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces is currently reported for 172 countries. The highest value is 136,872 Square kilometres in OECD; the lowest is 125.67 Square kilometres in Estonia.
The median across all reporting countries is 418.12 Square kilometres, and the mean is 3,201 Square kilometres.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 1,089.
Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | OECD | 136,872 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 64.4% | rising |
| 2 | China | 114,666 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 119.7% | rising |
| 3 | United States | 50,835 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 79.2% | rising |
| 4 | India | 24,983 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 123.0% | rising |
| 5 | Russia | 15,488 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 70.4% | rising |
| 6 | Brazil | 12,994 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 107.4% | rising |
| 7 | Ukraine | 11,377 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 5.9% | rising |
| 8 | Japan | 10,888 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 84.0% | rising |
| 9 | Germany | 8,275 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 8.9% | rising |
| 10 | France | 8,076 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 24.7% | rising |
| 11 | Nigeria | 7,134 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 205.6% | volatile |
| 12 | Indonesia | 6,849 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 196.1% | volatile |
| 13 | South Africa | 6,405 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 209.2% | volatile |
| 14 | Italy | 5,261 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 44.0% | rising |
| 15 | Uzbekistan | 4,990 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 142.3% | rising |
| 16 | Pakistan | 4,902 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 115.6% | rising |
| 17 | Iran | 4,895 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 202.5% | volatile |
| 18 | Spain | 4,609 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 107.8% | rising |
| 19 | Canada | 4,307 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 70.4% | rising |
| 20 | Romania | 4,236 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 40.4% | rising |
| 21 | Australia | 3,732 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 50.9% | rising |
| 22 | Thailand | 3,691 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 155.8% | rising |
| 22 | Moldova | 899.86 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 4.1% | rising |
| 23 | United Kingdom | 3,413 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 17.3% | rising |
| 24 | Kazakhstan | 3,174 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 133.1% | rising |
| 25 | Argentina | 3,089 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 192.3% | volatile |
| 26 | Saudi Arabia | 2,837 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 230.8% | volatile |
| 27 | Egypt | 2,756 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 146.8% | rising |
| 28 | Malaysia | 2,547 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 128.1% | rising |
| 29 | Ghana | 2,325 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 257.4% | volatile |
| 30 | Iraq | 2,227 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 199.5% | volatile |
| 31 | Algeria | 1,848 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 159.4% | rising |
| 31 | Croatia | 403.21 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 71.0% | rising |
| 32 | Hungary | 1,684 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 7.2% | rising |
| 33 | Taiwan | 1,478 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 125.9% | rising |
| 34 | Portugal | 1,454 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 68.1% | rising |
| 35 | Philippines | 1,445 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 235.4% | volatile |
| 36 | Belgium | 1,445 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 9.9% | rising |
| 37 | Venezuela | 1,413 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 120.0% | rising |
| 38 | Côte d’Ivoire | 1,406 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 256.3% | volatile |
| 39 | Czechia | 1,391 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 5.6% | rising |
| 40 | Chile | 1,384 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 290.2% | volatile |
| 41 | Angola | 1,252 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 248.9% | volatile |
| 42 | Tanzania | 1,233 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 260.5% | volatile |
| 43 | Azerbaijan | 1,223 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 237.1% | volatile |
| 44 | Belarus | 1,189 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 37.2% | rising |
| 45 | Peru | 1,151 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 372.9% | volatile |
| 46 | Norway | 1,108 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 37.0% | rising |
| 47 | Morocco | 1,055 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 165.9% | rising |
| 48 | Turkmenistan | 1,036 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 291.3% | volatile |
| 49 | Austria | 1,028 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 8.9% | rising |
| 50 | Bangladesh | 1,027 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 150.4% | rising |
| 51 | Colombia | 937.92 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 210.8% | volatile |
| 52 | Ecuador | 867.92 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 312.5% | volatile |
| 53 | Zambia | 861.86 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 256.2% | volatile |
| 54 | Mexico | 859.83 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 170.5% | rising |
| 55 | Greece | 839.6 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 129.8% | rising |
| 56 | Libya | 827.42 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 169.3% | rising |
| 57 | Myanmar | 808.65 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 201.8% | volatile |
| 58 | Mozambique | 782.71 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 322.4% | volatile |
| 59 | Kyrgyzstan | 780.54 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 58.6% | rising |
| 60 | Cameroon | 773.29 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 279.0% | volatile |
| 61 | Sweden | 769.25 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 57.5% | rising |
| 62 | Tajikistan | 723.66 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 155.4% | rising |
| 63 | Israel | 722.92 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 134.0% | rising |
| 64 | Switzerland | 691.62 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 7.4% | rising |
| 65 | Bolivia | 673.02 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 198.7% | volatile |
| 66 | Türkiye | 4,712 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 184.1% | volatile |
| 66 | Serbia | 662.37 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 153.7% | rising |
| 67 | Kenya | 654.83 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 246.4% | volatile |
| 68 | Afghanistan | 644.86 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 185.9% | rising |
| 69 | Bulgaria | 604.38 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 110.0% | rising |
| 70 | Uganda | 602.91 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 122.8% | rising |
| 71 | Denmark | 580.29 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 20.2% | rising |
| 72 | Tunisia | 563.36 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 185.9% | volatile |
| 73 | Botswana | 557.07 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 503.5% | volatile |
| 74 | Burkina Faso | 551.67 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 356.7% | volatile |
| 75 | Poland | 3,451 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 14.0% | rising |
| 75 | Zimbabwe | 546.44 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 414.6% | volatile |
| 76 | Benin | 539.89 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 208.2% | volatile |
| 77 | Mali | 497.98 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 292.2% | volatile |
| 78 | North Korea | 486.6 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 479.8% | volatile |
| 79 | Sri Lanka | 458.14 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 115.4% | rising |
| 80 | Guatemala | 427.78 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 112.0% | rising |
| 81 | United Arab Emirates | 425.54 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 1,908.8% | volatile |
| 82 | Georgia | 418.8 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 81.1% | rising |
| 83 | Yemen | 417.44 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 212.2% | volatile |
| 84 | Oman | 406.21 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 632.8% | volatile |
| 85 | Ireland | 404.33 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 10.6% | rising |
| 86 | Senegal | 401.02 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 147.7% | rising |
| 87 | Namibia | 398.04 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 828.6% | volatile |
| 88 | Kuwait | 374.13 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 84.9% | rising |
| 89 | Togo | 373.76 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 363.7% | volatile |
| 90 | Paraguay | 372.97 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 67.6% | rising |
| 91 | Palestine | 372.15 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 218.9% | volatile |
| 92 | Jordan | 360.68 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 256.6% | volatile |
| 93 | Malawi | 358.88 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 408.2% | volatile |
| 94 | Guinea | 355.36 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 246.4% | volatile |
| 95 | Dominican Republic | 343.85 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 86.0% | rising |
| 96 | Puerto Rico | 341.42 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 78.1% | rising |
| 97 | Cambodia | 337.61 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 481.9% | volatile |
| 98 | Mongolia | 333.8 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 257.9% | volatile |
| 99 | Finland | 307.77 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 10,026.2% | volatile |
| 100 | Nepal | 297.69 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 178.0% | rising |
| 101 | Netherlands | 1,611 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 16.2% | rising |
| 101 | Honduras | 283.76 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 155.0% | rising |
| 102 | Congo | 279.41 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 207.9% | volatile |
| 103 | New Zealand | 276.28 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 91.2% | rising |
| 104 | Armenia | 275.73 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 118.8% | rising |
| 105 | Qatar | 259.43 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 229.7% | volatile |
| 106 | Uruguay | 259.25 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 72.4% | rising |
| 107 | Haiti | 252.25 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 117.2% | rising |
| 108 | Sierra Leone | 251.67 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 137.3% | rising |
| 109 | Cyprus | 247.11 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 63.0% | rising |
| 110 | Cuba | 244.72 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 108.5% | rising |
| 111 | Somalia | 242.37 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 718.0% | volatile |
| 112 | Panama | 222.93 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 149.5% | volatile |
| 113 | Costa Rica | 202.66 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 47.4% | rising |
| 114 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 202.41 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 130.7% | rising |
| 115 | Rwanda | 197.29 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 148.3% | rising |
| 116 | Lebanon | 192.95 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 185.9% | volatile |
| 117 | Niger | 191.39 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 708.9% | volatile |
| 118 | Singapore | 184.8 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 58.6% | rising |
| 119 | Chad | 181.12 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 818.5% | volatile |
| 120 | Liberia | 169.29 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 252.9% | volatile |
| 121 | Trinidad and Tobago | 168.46 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 99.3% | rising |
| 122 | Central African Republic | 153.18 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 501.4% | volatile |
| 123 | Burundi | 152.28 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 164.6% | rising |
| 124 | Gabon | 150.87 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 103.3% | rising |
| 125 | Laos | 146.16 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 179.2% | rising |
| 126 | North Macedonia | 124.05 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 281.1% | volatile |
| 127 | Albania | 110.94 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 249.3% | volatile |
| 128 | Bahrain | 102.4 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 70.2% | rising |
| 129 | Nicaragua | 102.12 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 231.4% | volatile |
| 130 | El Salvador | 100.24 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 142.1% | rising |
| 131 | Jamaica | 94.09 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 135.1% | rising |
| 132 | Brunei Darussalam | 93.23 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 112.6% | rising |
| 133 | Guyana | 84.9 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 80.9% | rising |
| 134 | Gambia | 77.49 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 484.9% | volatile |
| 135 | Luxembourg | 64.11 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 13.8% | rising |
| 136 | Suriname | 60.67 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 40.4% | rising |
| 137 | Mauritius | 56.88 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 94.6% | rising |
| 138 | Hong Kong | 55.77 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 69.6% | rising |
| 139 | Papua New Guinea | 54.85 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 331.5% | volatile |
| 140 | Guinea-Bissau | 46.57 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 136.6% | rising |
| 141 | Belize | 37.87 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 110.6% | rising |
| 142 | New Caledonia | 31.67 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 106.9% | rising |
| 143 | Barbados | 30.27 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 90.4% | rising |
| 144 | Bahamas | 25.57 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 83.7% | rising |
| 145 | Western Sahara | 20.81 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 346.9% | volatile |
| 146 | Malta | 19.87 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 50.8% | rising |
| 147 | United States Virgin Islands | 14.55 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 84.2% | rising |
| 148 | Comoros | 13.15 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 210.5% | volatile |
| 149 | Djibouti | 10.04 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 1,100.0% | volatile |
| 150 | Cayman Islands | 10.04 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 169.6% | volatile |
| 151 | Liechtenstein | 9.1 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 4.2% | flat |
| 152 | Guernsey | 5.66 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 2.0% | flat |
| 153 | British Virgin Islands | 5.51 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 180.0% | volatile |
| 154 | Isle of Man | 5.43 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 12.3% | rising |
| 155 | Antigua and Barbuda | 5.18 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 185.7% | volatile |
| 156 | Jersey | 4.57 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 2.7% | flat |
| 157 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 4.07 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 269.3% | volatile |
| 158 | Bhutan | 3.98 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 123.7% | volatile |
| 159 | San Marino | 2.4 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 105.6% | rising |
| 160 | Andorra | 1.49 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 175.0% | volatile |
| 161 | Saint Pierre and Miquelon | 1.03 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 6.3% | flat |
| 162 | Macao | 0.8322 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 57.1% | rising |
| 163 | Monaco | 0.0411 Square kilometres | 2022 | unchanged | flat |
| 256 | Lithuania | 332.81 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 33.7% | rising |
| 382 | Slovenia | 165.26 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 9.8% | rising |
| 427 | Latvia | 127.17 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 32.2% | rising |
| 428 | Estonia | 125.67 Square kilometres | 2022 | up 43.5% | rising |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- International Programme for Action on Climate Parties 330,598 Square kilometres
- G20 297,832 Square kilometres
- G20 excl. European Union 272,806 Square kilometres
- APEC 233,280 Square kilometres
- G20 non-OECD economies 187,312 Square kilometres
- Eastern and South-Eastern Asia 148,153 Square kilometres
- Major five Asia economies 159,836 Square kilometres
- Eastern Asia 128,880 Square kilometres
- OECD (evolving composition) 136,872 Square kilometres
- OECD (38 countries) 136,872 Square kilometres
- Eastern Europe 40,962 Square kilometres
- Western Europe 21,200 Square kilometres
- OECD (37 countries) 136,669 Square kilometres
- South-Eastern Asia 19,273 Square kilometres
- OECD (36 countries) 135,731 Square kilometres
- ASEAN 19,237 Square kilometres
- OECD (35 countries) 135,398 Square kilometres
- Dynamic Asian economies 16,250 Square kilometres
- OECD (34 countries) 135,271 Square kilometres
- Middle East and North Africa 15,827 Square kilometres
- OECD (31 countries) 132,873 Square kilometres
- Central Asia 10,704 Square kilometres
- OECD (30 countries) 132,233 Square kilometres
- Central America 9,948 Square kilometres
- OECD (26 countries) 125,707 Square kilometres
- Southern Africa 7,479 Square kilometres
- G7 91,056 Square kilometres
- Northern Africa 7,071 Square kilometres
- OECD America 66,237 Square kilometres
- Korea 2,449 Square kilometres
- NAFTA 63,713 Square kilometres
- São Paulo 2,372 Square kilometres
- G20 OECD countries 59,685 Square kilometres
- Colorado 1,861 Square kilometres
- OECD Europe 52,566 Square kilometres
- Minas Gerais 1,582 Square kilometres
- European Union (28 countries) 51,566 Square kilometres
- Indiana 1,339 Square kilometres
- European Union (27 countries) 51,163 Square kilometres
- Paraná 1,174 Square kilometres
About this data
The land cover dataset provides a global assessment of land cover and land cover change to monitor pressures on ecosystems and biodiversity. By using geospatial data with high spatio-temporal resolution, it develops a set of internationally comparable indicators with a long time series and a five-year interval from 2000 to 2022 for the Climate Change Initiative Land Cover dataset, and from 1975 to 2030 for the Global Human Settlement Layer dataset. Please see the working paper for a more complete description of the methods. The dataset has a global coverage on the national level, while on the sub-national TL2 level (i.e. large subnational regions) results are reported for all OECD countries as well as for Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa. The following country aggregates are included: Euro area, European Union, Advanced economies, Emerging market economies, G7, G20, OECD, OECD Europe, OECD Asia Oceania, OECD Americas, the LAC region and the World. Data source(s): Climate Change Initiative land cover data and Global Human Settlement Layer built-up area data. Contact: ENV.Stat@oecd.org Database documentation