Land use in Iran
Iran: Land use was 17.59 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
17.59 million hectares
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
21st
of 223 countries
All-time high
18.71 million hectares
in 1995
All-time low
13.71 million hectares
in 1980
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Land use in Iran, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Iran recorded 17.59 million hectares for land use in 2023.
The figure is up 6.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Iran peaked at 18.71 million hectares in 1995 and was at its lowest, 13.71 million hectares, in 1980.
Iran ranks 21st of 223 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 15.45 million hectares | 15.27 million hectares | 15.67 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 16.20 million hectares | 14.87 million hectares | 17.48 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 15.58 million hectares | 13.71 million hectares | 16.87 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 18.09 million hectares | 16.50 million hectares | 18.71 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 17.59 million hectares | 16.28 million hectares | 18.55 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 16.86 million hectares | 16.48 million hectares | 17.51 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 17.58 million hectares | 17.55 million hectares | 17.59 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Iran
More environment data for Iran
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 1,055 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 11.52 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 23.95 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 1.36 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 132.92 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0799 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 175.7 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.3082 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 2.67 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 13.99 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in Iran?
- Land use in Iran was 17.59 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 Iran?
- The highest recorded value was 18.71 million hectares in 1995.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Iran?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.71 million hectares in 1980.
- How does Iran rank for land use?
- Iran ranks 21st out of 223 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Iran?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iran 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).