Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces in Western Europe
Western Europe: Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces was 21,200 Square kilometres in 2022. ▲ Rising
Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces in Western 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 Western Europe is 21,200 Square kilometres, measured in 2022. That is the highest value across all 5 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 7.0% on the previous year and up 15.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces in Western Europe peaked at 21,200 Square kilometres in 2022 and was at its lowest, 17,143 Square kilometres, in 2005.
That places Western Europe 6th out of 56 groups with data for 2022, putting it in the top 10%.
Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces in Western Europe, year by year
| Year | Square kilometres | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 17,143 Square kilometres | — |
| 2010 | 18,429 Square kilometres | +7.5% |
| 2015 | 19,395 Square kilometres | +5.2% |
| 2020 | 19,820 Square kilometres | +2.2% |
| 2022 | 21,200 Square kilometres | +7.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 17,143 Square kilometres | 17,143 Square kilometres | 17,143 Square kilometres | 1 |
| 2010s | 18,912 Square kilometres | 18,429 Square kilometres | 19,395 Square kilometres | 2 |
| 2020s | 20,510 Square kilometres | 19,820 Square kilometres | 21,200 Square kilometres | 2 |
Countries ranked near Western Europe
- 3 United States of America 50,835 Square kilometres compare
- 4 India 24,983 Square kilometres compare
- 5 Russian Federation 15,488 Square kilometres compare
- 6 Brazil 12,994 Square kilometres compare
- 7 Ukraine 11,377 Square kilometres compare
- 8 Japan 10,888 Square kilometres compare
- 9 Germany 8,275 Square kilometres compare
More environment data for Western Europe
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -3.94 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -3.1 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.485 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.23 °C (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Total fibre furnish — Production, annual growth rate -4.18 % change on previous year (2024)
- Plywood and LVL — Import quantity, annual growth rate 5.21 % change on previous year (2024)
- Sawnwood, non-coniferous — Import value, annual growth rate 1 % change on previous year (2024)
- Sawnwood, non-coniferous — Export quantity, annual growth rate 3.37 % change on previous year (2024)
- Sawnwood, non-coniferous — Export value, annual growth rate 8.44 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces in Western Europe?
- Land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces in Western Europe was 21,200 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 Western Europe?
- The highest recorded value was 21,200 Square kilometres in 2022.
- What is the lowest land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces recorded in Western Europe?
- The lowest recorded value was 17,143 Square kilometres in 2005.
- How does Western Europe rank for land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces?
- Western Europe ranks 6th out of 56 groups with data for 2022.
- Is land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces rising or falling in Western Europe?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Western 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