Land use in Germany
Germany: Land use was 11.88 million hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Land use in Germany, 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 Germany stood at 11.88 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 Germany peaked at 12.72 million hectares in 1961 and was at its lowest, 11.71 million hectares, in 1992.
That places Germany 28th out of 223 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 12.61 million hectares | 12.48 million hectares | 12.72 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 12.49 million hectares | 12.39 million hectares | 12.58 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 12.44 million hectares | 12.39 million hectares | 12.53 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 12.02 million hectares | 11.71 million hectares | 12.41 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 12.07 million hectares | 12.00 million hectares | 12.14 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.01 million hectares | 11.91 million hectares | 12.08 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 11.87 million hectares | 11.86 million hectares | 11.88 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Germany
- 25 Cote d'Ivoire 14.30 million hectares compare
- 26 Myanmar 12.52 million hectares compare
- 27 South Africa 12.41 million hectares compare
- 29 Vietnam 11.65 million hectares compare
- 30 Poland 11.55 million hectares compare
- 31 Philippines 11.22 million hectares compare
More environment data for Germany
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 674.36 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 8.07 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 33.97 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 2.87 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 9.52 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.2198 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 55.51 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.3905 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.1987 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 8.1 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in Germany?
- Land use in Germany was 11.88 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 Germany?
- The highest recorded value was 12.72 million hectares in 1961.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Germany?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.71 million hectares in 1992.
- How does Germany rank for land use?
- Germany ranks 28th out of 223 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Germany?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Germany 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).