Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces in Western Sahara
Western Sahara: Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces was 20.81 Square kilometres in 2022. ◆ Volatile
Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces in Western Sahara, 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 Sahara is 20.81 Square kilometres, measured in 2022. That is the highest value across all 5 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 19.1% on the previous year and up 346.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces in Western Sahara peaked at 20.81 Square kilometres in 2022 and was at its lowest, 2.33 Square kilometres, in 2005.
Western Sahara ranks 145th of 164 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces in Western Sahara, year by year
| Year | Square kilometres | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 2.33 Square kilometres | — |
| 2010 | 4.66 Square kilometres | +100.2% |
| 2015 | 10.53 Square kilometres | +126.2% |
| 2020 | 17.47 Square kilometres | +65.8% |
| 2022 | 20.81 Square kilometres | +19.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2.33 Square kilometres | 2.33 Square kilometres | 2.33 Square kilometres | 1 |
| 2010s | 7.59 Square kilometres | 4.66 Square kilometres | 10.53 Square kilometres | 2 |
| 2020s | 19.14 Square kilometres | 17.47 Square kilometres | 20.81 Square kilometres | 2 |
Countries ranked near Western Sahara
More environment data for Western Sahara
- Standard Deviation 0.503 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.89 °C (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -62.29 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -21.2 Percentage change (2025)
- Cropland — Area per capita 0.01 ha/cap (2024)
- Permanent meadows and pastures — Share in Land area 18.8 % (2024)
- Arable land — Area 4 1000 ha (2024)
- Permanent meadows and pastures — Share in Agricultural land 99.92 % (2024)
- Agriculture — Area 5,004 1000 ha (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces in Western Sahara?
- Land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces in Western Sahara was 20.81 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 Sahara?
- The highest recorded value was 20.81 Square kilometres in 2022.
- What is the lowest land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces recorded in Western Sahara?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.33 Square kilometres in 2005.
- How does Western Sahara rank for land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces?
- Western Sahara ranks 145th out of 164 countries with data for 2022.
- Is land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces rising or falling in Western Sahara?
- Over the last ten years it is up 346.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Western Sahara 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