Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland in Middle East
Middle East: Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland was 12,226 Square kilometres in 2022. ▲ Rising
Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland in Middle East, 2005–2022
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Square kilometres.
Analysis
Middle East recorded 12,226 Square kilometres for land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland in 2022. That is the highest value across all 5 years on record.
That represents a change of up 12.2% on the previous year and up 114.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland in Middle East peaked at 12,226 Square kilometres in 2022 and was at its lowest, 2,876 Square kilometres, in 2005.
Middle East ranks 66th of 753 groups on this measure, in the top 10%.
Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland in Middle East, year by year
| Year | Square kilometres | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 2,876 Square kilometres | — |
| 2010 | 5,700 Square kilometres | +98.2% |
| 2015 | 8,208 Square kilometres | +44.0% |
| 2020 | 10,899 Square kilometres | +32.8% |
| 2022 | 12,226 Square kilometres | +12.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2,876 Square kilometres | 2,876 Square kilometres | 2,876 Square kilometres | 1 |
| 2010s | 6,954 Square kilometres | 5,700 Square kilometres | 8,208 Square kilometres | 2 |
| 2020s | 11,563 Square kilometres | 10,899 Square kilometres | 12,226 Square kilometres | 2 |
Countries ranked near Middle East
- 63 Dominican Republic 2,989 Square kilometres compare
- 63 Melanesia 13,401 Square kilometres compare
- 64 Malawi 2,962 Square kilometres compare
- 65 Greece 2,951 Square kilometres compare
- 66 Guatemala 2,668 Square kilometres compare
- 67 Togo 2,649 Square kilometres compare
- 68 Serbia 2,622 Square kilometres compare
- 69 Burkina Faso 2,619 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 — Gain of artificial surfaces 17,245 Square kilometres (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland in Middle East?
- Land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland in Middle East was 12,226 Square kilometres in 2022, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
- What is the highest land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland recorded in Middle East?
- The highest recorded value was 12,226 Square kilometres in 2022.
- What is the lowest land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland recorded in Middle East?
- The lowest recorded value was 2,876 Square kilometres in 2005.
- How does Middle East rank for land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland?
- Middle East ranks 66th out of 753 groups with data for 2022.
- Is land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland rising or falling in Middle East?
- Over the last ten years it is up 114.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- 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 — Loss of cropland. 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