Land use in Italy
Italy: Land use was 9.48 million hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
9.48 million hectares
Change on year
up 0.1%
World rank
33rd
of 224 countries
All-time high
15.61 million hectares
in 1961
All-time low
9.05 million hectares
in 2015
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Land use in Italy, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Italy recorded 9.48 million hectares for land use in 2023.
That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and up 4.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Italy peaked at 15.61 million hectares in 1961 and was at its lowest, 9.05 million hectares, in 2015.
Italy ranks 33rd of 224 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Land use in Italy, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 15.61 million hectares | — |
| 1962 | 15.57 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1963 | 15.41 million hectares | -1.0% |
| 1964 | 15.37 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1965 | 15.30 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 1966 | 15.26 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1967 | 15.21 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1968 | 15.20 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1969 | 15.00 million hectares | -1.3% |
| 1970 | 14.93 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 1971 | 12.41 million hectares | -16.9% |
| 1972 | 12.30 million hectares | -0.8% |
| 1973 | 12.23 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 1974 | 12.29 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1975 | 12.31 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1976 | 12.35 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1977 | 12.34 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1978 | 12.42 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 1979 | 12.45 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1980 | 12.44 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1981 | 12.42 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1982 | 12.41 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1983 | 12.27 million hectares | -1.2% |
| 1984 | 12.23 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1985 | 12.11 million hectares | -1.0% |
| 1986 | 12.10 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1987 | 12.07 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1988 | 11.98 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 1989 | 11.97 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1990 | 11.97 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 11.85 million hectares | -1.0% |
| 1992 | 11.63 million hectares | -1.9% |
| 1993 | 11.38 million hectares | -2.1% |
| 1994 | 11.14 million hectares | -2.1% |
| 1995 | 10.93 million hectares | -1.9% |
| 1996 | 11.01 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 1997 | 10.97 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1998 | 11.14 million hectares | +1.5% |
| 1999 | 11.42 million hectares | +2.6% |
| 2000 | 11.28 million hectares | -1.2% |
| 2001 | 11.14 million hectares | -1.3% |
| 2002 | 10.89 million hectares | -2.2% |
| 2003 | 10.54 million hectares | -3.3% |
| 2004 | 10.53 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2005 | 10.33 million hectares | -1.9% |
| 2006 | 9.92 million hectares | -4.0% |
| 2007 | 9.70 million hectares | -2.2% |
| 2008 | 10.04 million hectares | +3.5% |
| 2009 | 9.56 million hectares | -4.8% |
| 2010 | 9.63 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 2011 | 9.24 million hectares | -4.0% |
| 2012 | 9.56 million hectares | +3.5% |
| 2013 | 9.09 million hectares | -4.9% |
| 2014 | 9.12 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 9.05 million hectares | -0.8% |
| 2016 | 9.15 million hectares | +1.1% |
| 2017 | 9.22 million hectares | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 9.16 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 2019 | 9.33 million hectares | +1.8% |
| 2020 | 9.38 million hectares | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 9.36 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 2022 | 9.47 million hectares | +1.2% |
| 2023 | 9.48 million hectares | +0.1% |
Italy compared with similar countries
- Italy's 9.48 million hectares is above the median for high income countries, which is 303,040 hectares, 31.3× the median. (78 countries reporting)
- Italy's 9.48 million hectares is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.39 million hectares, 6.8× the median. (53 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 15.33 million hectares | 15.00 million hectares | 15.61 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 12.60 million hectares | 12.23 million hectares | 14.93 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 12.20 million hectares | 11.97 million hectares | 12.44 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 11.34 million hectares | 10.93 million hectares | 11.97 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 10.39 million hectares | 9.56 million hectares | 11.28 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.25 million hectares | 9.05 million hectares | 9.63 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 9.43 million hectares | 9.36 million hectares | 9.48 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Italy
More environment data for Italy
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 2.04 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 2.47 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.324 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.18 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -1.94 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate -0.2257 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in Italy?
- Land use in Italy was 9.48 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 Italy?
- The highest recorded value was 15.61 million hectares in 1961.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Italy?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.05 million hectares in 2015.
- How does Italy rank for land use?
- Italy ranks 33rd out of 224 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Italy?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Italy 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).