Land use over the long-term in Ireland
Ireland: Land use over the long-term was 3.75 million hectares in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
3.75 million hectares
Change on year
down 1.3%
Rank
71st
of 202 regions
All-time high
5.20 million hectares
in 1860
All-time low
760,505 hectares
in 1000
Years of data
108
1000–2025
Land use over the long-term in Ireland, 1000–2025
Source: HYDE (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Ireland recorded 3.75 million hectares for land use over the long-term in 2025.
That represents a change of down 1.3% on the previous year and down 5.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use over the long-term in Ireland peaked at 5.20 million hectares in 1860 and was at its lowest, 760,505 hectares, in 1000.
That places Ireland 71st out of 202 regions with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 108 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1000s | 760,505 hectares | 760,505 hectares | 760,505 hectares | 1 |
| 1100s | 1.29 million hectares | 1.29 million hectares | 1.29 million hectares | 1 |
| 1200s | 1.53 million hectares | 1.53 million hectares | 1.53 million hectares | 1 |
| 1300s | 1.51 million hectares | 1.51 million hectares | 1.51 million hectares | 1 |
| 1400s | 1.30 million hectares | 1.30 million hectares | 1.30 million hectares | 1 |
| 1500s | 1.25 million hectares | 1.25 million hectares | 1.25 million hectares | 1 |
| 1600s | 1.60 million hectares | 1.60 million hectares | 1.60 million hectares | 1 |
| 1700s | 3.10 million hectares | 3.10 million hectares | 3.10 million hectares | 1 |
| 1710s | 3.50 million hectares | 3.50 million hectares | 3.50 million hectares | 1 |
| 1720s | 3.32 million hectares | 3.32 million hectares | 3.32 million hectares | 1 |
| 1730s | 3.13 million hectares | 3.13 million hectares | 3.13 million hectares | 1 |
| 1740s | 2.91 million hectares | 2.91 million hectares | 2.91 million hectares | 1 |
| 1750s | 2.68 million hectares | 2.68 million hectares | 2.68 million hectares | 1 |
| 1760s | 2.58 million hectares | 2.58 million hectares | 2.58 million hectares | 1 |
| 1770s | 2.48 million hectares | 2.48 million hectares | 2.48 million hectares | 1 |
| 1780s | 2.66 million hectares | 2.66 million hectares | 2.66 million hectares | 1 |
| 1790s | 3.04 million hectares | 3.04 million hectares | 3.04 million hectares | 1 |
| 1800s | 3.12 million hectares | 3.12 million hectares | 3.12 million hectares | 1 |
| 1810s | 3.89 million hectares | 3.89 million hectares | 3.89 million hectares | 1 |
| 1820s | 4.45 million hectares | 4.45 million hectares | 4.45 million hectares | 1 |
| 1830s | 4.41 million hectares | 4.41 million hectares | 4.41 million hectares | 1 |
| 1840s | 4.49 million hectares | 4.49 million hectares | 4.49 million hectares | 1 |
| 1850s | 4.88 million hectares | 4.88 million hectares | 4.88 million hectares | 1 |
| 1860s | 5.20 million hectares | 5.20 million hectares | 5.20 million hectares | 1 |
| 1870s | 5.11 million hectares | 5.11 million hectares | 5.11 million hectares | 1 |
| 1880s | 5.16 million hectares | 5.16 million hectares | 5.16 million hectares | 1 |
| 1890s | 4.91 million hectares | 4.91 million hectares | 4.91 million hectares | 1 |
| 1900s | 4.87 million hectares | 4.87 million hectares | 4.87 million hectares | 1 |
| 1910s | 4.99 million hectares | 4.99 million hectares | 4.99 million hectares | 1 |
| 1920s | 5.18 million hectares | 5.18 million hectares | 5.18 million hectares | 1 |
| 1930s | 3.62 million hectares | 3.62 million hectares | 3.62 million hectares | 1 |
| 1940s | 3.80 million hectares | 3.80 million hectares | 3.80 million hectares | 1 |
| 1950s | 3.92 million hectares | 3.89 million hectares | 3.95 million hectares | 10 |
| 1960s | 4.10 million hectares | 3.90 million hectares | 4.30 million hectares | 10 |
| 1970s | 4.35 million hectares | 4.26 million hectares | 4.38 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 4.36 million hectares | 4.26 million hectares | 4.38 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.99 million hectares | 3.91 million hectares | 4.14 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.90 million hectares | 3.78 million hectares | 4.14 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.04 million hectares | 3.98 million hectares | 4.13 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.88 million hectares | 3.75 million hectares | 4.07 million hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
More environment data for Ireland
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 59.68 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 11.06 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 15.58 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.0879 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 1.23 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0115 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 18.11 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0209 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0087 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 1.16 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use over the long-term in Ireland?
- Land use over the long-term in Ireland was 3.75 million hectares in 2025, according to HYDE (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest land use over the long-term recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 5.20 million hectares in 1860.
- What is the lowest land use over the long-term recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 760,505 hectares in 1000.
- How does Ireland rank for land use over the long-term?
- Ireland ranks 71st out of 202 regions with data for 2025.
- Is land use over the long-term rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ireland data come from?
- The figures come from HYDE (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Land use over the long-term. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 108 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Total grazingland area for each separate country over time.