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

Spain: Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces was 4,609 Square kilometres in 2022. ▲ Rising

Latest (2022)
4,609 Square kilometres
Change on year
up 5.9%
World rank
18th
of 164 countries
All-time high
4,609 Square kilometres
in 2022
All-time low
1,200 Square kilometres
in 2005
Years of data
5
2005–2022

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

1.0k2.0k3.0k4.0k5.0k2005201320222005: 1.2k Square kilometres2010: 2.2k Square kilometres2015: 3.5k Square kilometres2020: 4.4k Square kilometres2022: 4.6k Square kilometres

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

Analysis

Spain recorded 4,609 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.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 5.9% on the previous year and up 107.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces in Spain peaked at 4,609 Square kilometres in 2022 and was at its lowest, 1,200 Square kilometres, in 2005.

That places Spain 18th out of 164 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top quarter.

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

Annual values for Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces in Spain, 2005 to 2022.
Year Square kilometres Change
2005 1,200 Square kilometres
2010 2,218 Square kilometres +84.8%
2015 3,481 Square kilometres +57.0%
2020 4,351 Square kilometres +25.0%
2022 4,609 Square kilometres +5.9%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 1,200 Square kilometres 1,200 Square kilometres 1,200 Square kilometres 1
2010s 2,849 Square kilometres 2,218 Square kilometres 3,481 Square kilometres 2
2020s 4,480 Square kilometres 4,351 Square kilometres 4,609 Square kilometres 2

Countries ranked near Spain

  1. 15 Uzbekistan 4,990 Square kilometres compare
  2. 16 Pakistan 4,902 Square kilometres compare
  3. 17 Iran, Islamic Republic of 4,895 Square kilometres compare
  4. 19 Canada 4,307 Square kilometres compare
  5. 20 Romania 4,236 Square kilometres compare
  6. 21 Australia 3,732 Square kilometres compare
  7. 21 Ethiopia 1,044 Square kilometres compare

See the full ranking of 978 places →

More environment data for Spain

All data for Spain →

Frequently asked questions

What is land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces in Spain?
Land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces in Spain was 4,609 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 Spain?
The highest recorded value was 4,609 Square kilometres in 2022.
What is the lowest land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces recorded in Spain?
The lowest recorded value was 1,200 Square kilometres in 2005.
How does Spain rank for land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces?
Spain ranks 18th out of 164 countries with data for 2022.
Is land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces rising or falling in Spain?
Over the last ten years it is up 107.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Spain 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 Spain. 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/spain/

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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