Land use in Albania
Albania: Land use was 678,500 hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
678,500 hectares
Change on year
down 1.2%
World rank
125th
of 224 countries
All-time high
714,000 hectares
in 1987
All-time low
479,000 hectares
in 1961
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Land use in Albania, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
In 2023, land use in Albania stood at 678,500 hectares.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.2% on the previous year and down 2.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Albania peaked at 714,000 hectares in 1987 and was at its lowest, 479,000 hectares, in 1961.
Albania ranks 125th of 224 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Land use in Albania, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 479,000 hectares | — |
| 1962 | 487,000 hectares | +1.7% |
| 1963 | 495,000 hectares | +1.6% |
| 1964 | 501,000 hectares | +1.2% |
| 1965 | 522,000 hectares | +4.2% |
| 1966 | 540,000 hectares | +3.4% |
| 1967 | 556,000 hectares | +3.0% |
| 1968 | 570,000 hectares | +2.5% |
| 1969 | 585,000 hectares | +2.6% |
| 1970 | 599,000 hectares | +2.4% |
| 1971 | 610,000 hectares | +1.8% |
| 1972 | 624,000 hectares | +2.3% |
| 1973 | 636,000 hectares | +1.9% |
| 1974 | 652,000 hectares | +2.5% |
| 1975 | 662,000 hectares | +1.5% |
| 1976 | 685,000 hectares | +3.5% |
| 1977 | 692,000 hectares | +1.0% |
| 1978 | 697,000 hectares | +0.7% |
| 1979 | 697,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 702,000 hectares | +0.7% |
| 1981 | 706,000 hectares | +0.6% |
| 1982 | 709,000 hectares | +0.4% |
| 1983 | 710,000 hectares | +0.1% |
| 1984 | 713,000 hectares | +0.4% |
| 1985 | 713,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 713,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 714,000 hectares | +0.1% |
| 1988 | 714,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 707,000 hectares | -1.0% |
| 1990 | 704,000 hectares | -0.4% |
| 1991 | 703,000 hectares | -0.1% |
| 1992 | 703,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 702,000 hectares | -0.1% |
| 1994 | 702,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 702,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 702,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 700,000 hectares | -0.3% |
| 1998 | 699,000 hectares | -0.1% |
| 1999 | 699,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 699,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 699,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 699,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 699,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 699,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 659,000 hectares | -5.7% |
| 2006 | 705,000 hectares | +7.0% |
| 2007 | 698,000 hectares | -1.0% |
| 2008 | 697,000 hectares | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 696,000 hectares | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 696,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 696,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 696,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 696,300 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 696,000 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2015 | 696,100 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 703,500 hectares | +1.1% |
| 2017 | 696,200 hectares | -1.0% |
| 2018 | 696,000 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2019 | 696,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 687,555 hectares | -1.2% |
| 2021 | 687,530 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2022 | 686,400 hectares | -0.2% |
| 2023 | 678,500 hectares | -1.2% |
Albania compared with similar countries
- Albania's 678,500 hectares is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.58 million hectares, 43% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Albania's 678,500 hectares is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.39 million hectares, 49% of the median. (53 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 526,111 hectares | 479,000 hectares | 585,000 hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 655,400 hectares | 599,000 hectares | 697,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 710,100 hectares | 702,000 hectares | 714,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 701,600 hectares | 699,000 hectares | 704,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 695,000 hectares | 659,000 hectares | 705,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 696,810 hectares | 696,000 hectares | 703,500 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 684,996 hectares | 678,500 hectares | 687,555 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Albania
More environment data for Albania
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 0.6356 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 0.8208 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.434 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.15 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -1.89 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate -11.58 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in Albania?
- Land use in Albania was 678,500 hectares in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest land use recorded in Albania?
- The highest recorded value was 714,000 hectares in 1987.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Albania?
- The lowest recorded value was 479,000 hectares in 1961.
- How does Albania rank for land use?
- Albania ranks 125th out of 224 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Albania?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Albania data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Land use. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).