Land use in Hong Kong
Hong Kong: Land use was 3,000 hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Land use in Hong Kong, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Hong Kong recorded 3,000 hectares for land use in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
That represents a change of down 26.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Hong Kong peaked at 14,000 hectares in 1961 and was at its lowest, 3,000 hectares, in 2020.
That places Hong Kong 201st out of 223 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom 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 | 13,333 hectares | 13,000 hectares | 14,000 hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 10,600 hectares | 8,000 hectares | 13,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 7,900 hectares | 7,000 hectares | 8,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 6,700 hectares | 6,000 hectares | 7,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 5,600 hectares | 5,000 hectares | 6,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 4,150 hectares | 4,000 hectares | 4,500 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 3,000 hectares | 3,000 hectares | 3,000 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Hong Kong
- 199 Djibouti 3,900 hectares compare
- 200 Niue 3,800 hectares compare
- 202 American Samoa 2,960 hectares compare
- 203 Palau 2,300 hectares compare
- 203 San Marino 2,300 hectares compare
More environment data for Hong Kong
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 40.31 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 5.36 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 0.0153 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.006 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 0.0705 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0005 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 4.92 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.025 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0254 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 4.78 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in Hong Kong?
- Land use in Hong Kong was 3,000 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 Hong Kong?
- The highest recorded value was 14,000 hectares in 1961.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Hong Kong?
- The lowest recorded value was 3,000 hectares in 2020.
- How does Hong Kong rank for land use?
- Hong Kong ranks 201st out of 223 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Hong Kong?
- Over the last ten years it is down 26.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Hong Kong 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).