Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces in Canada

Canada: Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces was 4,307 Square kilometres in 2022. ▲ Rising

Latest (2022)
4,307 Square kilometres
Change on year
up 11.5%
World rank
19th
of 164 countries
All-time high
4,307 Square kilometres
in 2022
All-time low
1,946 Square kilometres
in 2005
Years of data
5
2005–2022

Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces in Canada, 2005–2022

01.0k2.0k3.0k4.0k2005201320222005: 1.9k Square kilometres2010: 2.5k Square kilometres2015: 2.9k Square kilometres2020: 3.9k Square kilometres2022: 4.3k Square kilometres

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Square kilometres.

Analysis

In 2022, land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces in Canada stood at 4,307 Square kilometres. That is the highest value across all 5 years on record.

The figure is up 11.5% on the previous year and up 70.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces in Canada peaked at 4,307 Square kilometres in 2022 and was at its lowest, 1,946 Square kilometres, in 2005.

Canada ranks 19th of 164 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces in Canada, year by year

Annual values for Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces in Canada, 2005 to 2022.
Year Square kilometres Change
2005 1,946 Square kilometres
2010 2,528 Square kilometres +29.9%
2015 2,865 Square kilometres +13.3%
2020 3,863 Square kilometres +34.8%
2022 4,307 Square kilometres +11.5%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 1,946 Square kilometres 1,946 Square kilometres 1,946 Square kilometres 1
2010s 2,697 Square kilometres 2,528 Square kilometres 2,865 Square kilometres 2
2020s 4,085 Square kilometres 3,863 Square kilometres 4,307 Square kilometres 2

Countries ranked near Canada

  1. 16 Pakistan 4,902 Square kilometres compare
  2. 17 Iran, Islamic Republic of 4,895 Square kilometres compare
  3. 18 Spain 4,609 Square kilometres compare
  4. 20 Romania 4,236 Square kilometres compare
  5. 21 Australia 3,732 Square kilometres compare
  6. 21 Ethiopia 1,044 Square kilometres compare
  7. 22 Moldova 899.86 Square kilometres compare
  8. 22 Thailand 3,691 Square kilometres compare

See the full ranking of 978 places →

More environment data for Canada

All data for Canada →

Frequently asked questions

What is land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces in Canada?
Land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces in Canada was 4,307 Square kilometres in 2022, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces recorded in Canada?
The highest recorded value was 4,307 Square kilometres in 2022.
What is the lowest land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces recorded in Canada?
The lowest recorded value was 1,946 Square kilometres in 2005.
How does Canada rank for land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces?
Canada ranks 19th out of 164 countries with data for 2022.
Is land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces rising or falling in Canada?
Over the last ten years it is up 70.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Canada data come from?
The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces in Canada. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 31 August 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/land-cover-and-land-cover-change-gain-of-artificial-surfaces/canada/

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About this data

Indicator
Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces
Unit
Square kilometres
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
978 places, 4,890 data points, 2005–2022
Last refreshed

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