Land use in France
France: Land use was 17.93 million hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Land use in France, 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 France stood at 17.93 million hectares. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
The figure is down 0.5% on the previous year and down 7.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in France peaked at 21.41 million hectares in 1961 and was at its lowest, 17.93 million hectares, in 2023.
France ranks 19th of 223 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 20.44 million hectares | 19.27 million hectares | 21.41 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 18.84 million hectares | 18.63 million hectares | 19.10 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 19.10 million hectares | 18.87 million hectares | 19.46 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 19.27 million hectares | 18.99 million hectares | 19.50 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 19.43 million hectares | 19.28 million hectares | 19.50 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 19.29 million hectares | 18.97 million hectares | 19.46 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 18.00 million hectares | 17.93 million hectares | 18.04 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near France
More environment data for France
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 378.12 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 5.52 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 42.25 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 2.45 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 3.31 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.1015 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 66.98 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.1903 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.1859 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 18.44 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in France?
- Land use in France was 17.93 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 France?
- The highest recorded value was 21.41 million hectares in 1961.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in France?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.93 million hectares in 2023.
- How does France rank for land use?
- France ranks 19th out of 223 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in France?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this France 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).