Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces in Middle East
Middle East: Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces was 17,245 Square kilometres in 2022. ◆ Volatile
Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces in Middle East, 2005–2022
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Square kilometres.
Analysis
Middle East recorded 17,245 Square kilometres for land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces in 2022. That is the highest value across all 5 years on record.
That represents a change of up 25.3% on the previous year and up 204.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces in Middle East peaked at 17,245 Square kilometres in 2022 and was at its lowest, 2,828 Square kilometres, in 2005.
Middle East ranks 54th of 758 groups on this measure, in the top 10%.
Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces in Middle East, year by year
| Year | Square kilometres | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 2,828 Square kilometres | — |
| 2010 | 5,672 Square kilometres | +100.6% |
| 2015 | 10,101 Square kilometres | +78.1% |
| 2020 | 13,759 Square kilometres | +36.2% |
| 2022 | 17,245 Square kilometres | +25.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2,828 Square kilometres | 2,828 Square kilometres | 2,828 Square kilometres | 1 |
| 2010s | 7,886 Square kilometres | 5,672 Square kilometres | 10,101 Square kilometres | 2 |
| 2020s | 15,502 Square kilometres | 13,759 Square kilometres | 17,245 Square kilometres | 2 |
Countries ranked near Middle East
- 51 Colombia 937.92 Square kilometres compare
- 52 Ecuador 867.92 Square kilometres compare
- 53 Zambia 861.86 Square kilometres compare
- 54 Mexico 859.83 Square kilometres compare
- 54 Eswatini 24.53 Square kilometres compare
- 55 Greece 839.6 Square kilometres compare
- 56 Libya 827.42 Square kilometres compare
- 57 Myanmar 808.65 Square kilometres compare
More environment data for Middle East
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -22.03 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -34.08 Percentage change (2025)
- Exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -4.53 Percentage change (2024)
- Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -9.19 Percentage change (2024)
- River flooding exposure — Cropland share exposed to river flooding 9.44 Percentage of agricultural land area (2022)
- Land cover and land cover change — Grassland 49,612 Square kilometres (2022)
- Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland 12,226 Square kilometres (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces in Middle East?
- Land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces in Middle East was 17,245 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 Middle East?
- The highest recorded value was 17,245 Square kilometres in 2022.
- What is the lowest land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces recorded in Middle East?
- The lowest recorded value was 2,828 Square kilometres in 2005.
- How does Middle East rank for land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces?
- Middle East ranks 54th out of 758 groups with data for 2022.
- Is land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces rising or falling in Middle East?
- Over the last ten years it is up 204.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Middle East 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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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