Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland in Western Europe
Western Europe: Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland was 26,916 Square kilometres in 2022. ▲ Rising
Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland in Western Europe, 2005–2022
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Square kilometres.
Analysis
In 2022, land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland in Western Europe stood at 26,916 Square kilometres. That is the highest value across all 5 years on record.
The figure is up 6.4% on the previous year and up 39.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland in Western Europe peaked at 26,916 Square kilometres in 2022 and was at its lowest, 15,569 Square kilometres, in 2005.
That places Western Europe 10th out of 57 groups with data for 2022, putting it in the top quarter.
Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland in Western Europe, year by year
| Year | Square kilometres | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 15,569 Square kilometres | — |
| 2010 | 19,278 Square kilometres | +23.8% |
| 2015 | 21,373 Square kilometres | +10.9% |
| 2020 | 25,287 Square kilometres | +18.3% |
| 2022 | 26,916 Square kilometres | +6.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 15,569 Square kilometres | 15,569 Square kilometres | 15,569 Square kilometres | 1 |
| 2010s | 20,326 Square kilometres | 19,278 Square kilometres | 21,373 Square kilometres | 2 |
| 2020s | 26,102 Square kilometres | 25,287 Square kilometres | 26,916 Square kilometres | 2 |
Countries ranked near Western Europe
- 7 United States of America 49,608 Square kilometres compare
- 8 Tanzania, United Republic of 23,226 Square kilometres compare
- 9 Nigeria 21,656 Square kilometres compare
- 10 Ukraine 17,820 Square kilometres compare
- 11 Malaysia 14,209 Square kilometres compare
- 12 Japan 13,196 Square kilometres compare
- 12 Ethiopia 20,612 Square kilometres compare
- 13 Kazakhstan 12,517 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)
- Other industrial roundwood — Production, annual growth rate -0.1823 % change on previous year (2024)
- Sawnwood — Import value, annual growth rate 1.88 % change on previous year (2024)
- Sawnwood — Import quantity, annual growth rate 0.8449 % change on previous year (2024)
- Sawnwood — Production, annual growth rate -0.7929 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland in Western Europe?
- Land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland in Western Europe was 26,916 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 Western Europe?
- The highest recorded value was 26,916 Square kilometres in 2022.
- What is the lowest land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland recorded in Western Europe?
- The lowest recorded value was 15,569 Square kilometres in 2005.
- How does Western Europe rank for land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland?
- Western Europe ranks 10th out of 57 groups with data for 2022.
- Is land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland rising or falling in Western Europe?
- Over the last ten years it is up 39.6%. 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 — 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