Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces in OECD Europe
OECD Europe: Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces was 52,566 Square kilometres in 2022. ▲ Rising
Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces in OECD Europe, 2005–2022
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Square kilometres.
Analysis
The most recent figure for land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces in OECD Europe is 52,566 Square kilometres, measured in 2022. That is the highest value across all 5 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 8.5% on the previous year and up 33.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces in OECD Europe peaked at 52,566 Square kilometres in 2022 and was at its lowest, 33,388 Square kilometres, in 2005.
That places OECD Europe 18th out of 758 regions with data for 2022, putting it in the top 10%.
Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces in OECD Europe, year by year
| Year | Square kilometres | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 33,388 Square kilometres | — |
| 2010 | 39,335 Square kilometres | +17.8% |
| 2015 | 45,191 Square kilometres | +14.9% |
| 2020 | 48,452 Square kilometres | +7.2% |
| 2022 | 52,566 Square kilometres | +8.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 33,388 Square kilometres | 33,388 Square kilometres | 33,388 Square kilometres | 1 |
| 2010s | 42,263 Square kilometres | 39,335 Square kilometres | 45,191 Square kilometres | 2 |
| 2020s | 50,509 Square kilometres | 48,452 Square kilometres | 52,566 Square kilometres | 2 |
Countries ranked near OECD Europe
- 15 Uzbekistan 4,990 Square kilometres compare
- 16 Pakistan 4,902 Square kilometres compare
- 17 Iran, Islamic Republic of 4,895 Square kilometres compare
- 18 Spain 4,609 Square kilometres compare
- 19 Canada 4,307 Square kilometres compare
- 20 Romania 4,236 Square kilometres compare
- 21 Australia 3,732 Square kilometres compare
- 21 Ethiopia 1,044 Square kilometres compare
More environment data for OECD Europe
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -2.71 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -1.25 Percentage change (2025)
- Exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -1.54 Percentage change (2024)
- Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 0.3148 Percentage change (2024)
- Land use hidden — Total area 5.66 million Square kilometres (2023)
- Land use hidden — Cropland 1.27 million Square kilometres (2023)
- Land use hidden — Land area 5.10 million Square kilometres (2023)
- Land use hidden — Permanent meadows and pastures 755,136 Square kilometres (2023)
- Land use hidden — Other areas 1.21 million Square kilometres (2023)
- Land use hidden — Forest 1.86 million Square kilometres (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces in OECD Europe?
- Land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces in OECD Europe was 52,566 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 OECD Europe?
- The highest recorded value was 52,566 Square kilometres in 2022.
- What is the lowest land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces recorded in OECD Europe?
- The lowest recorded value was 33,388 Square kilometres in 2005.
- How does OECD Europe rank for land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces?
- OECD Europe ranks 18th out of 758 regions with data for 2022.
- Is land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces rising or falling in OECD Europe?
- Over the last ten years it is up 33.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this OECD Europe 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 5 observations, free to reuse under OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required).
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