Land use in Denmark
Denmark: Land use was 2.40 million hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Land use in Denmark, 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 Denmark stood at 2.40 million hectares.
The figure is up 0.2% on the previous year and down 1.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Denmark peaked at 2.82 million hectares in 1961 and was at its lowest, 2.27 million hectares, in 2003.
That places Denmark 84th out of 223 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.73 million hectares | 2.69 million hectares | 2.82 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.66 million hectares | 2.65 million hectares | 2.68 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.61 million hectares | 2.56 million hectares | 2.65 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.43 million hectares | 2.30 million hectares | 2.57 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.33 million hectares | 2.27 million hectares | 2.44 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.43 million hectares | 2.38 million hectares | 2.50 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.39 million hectares | 2.38 million hectares | 2.40 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Denmark
More environment data for Denmark
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 38.26 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 6.4 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 6.34 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.2865 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 0.5045 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0088 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 8.07 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.1091 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.014 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 0.8057 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in Denmark?
- Land use in Denmark was 2.40 million 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 Denmark?
- The highest recorded value was 2.82 million hectares in 1961.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Denmark?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.27 million hectares in 2003.
- How does Denmark rank for land use?
- Denmark ranks 84th out of 223 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Denmark?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Denmark 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).