Land use in South Korea
South Korea: Land use was 1.51 million hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Land use in South Korea, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
The most recent figure for land use in South Korea is 1.51 million hectares, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
The figure is down 1.0% on the previous year and down 11.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in South Korea peaked at 2.32 million hectares in 1968 and was at its lowest, 1.51 million hectares, in 2023.
That places South Korea 101st out of 223 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.21 million hectares | 2.06 million hectares | 2.32 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.24 million hectares | 2.21 million hectares | 2.30 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.16 million hectares | 2.13 million hectares | 2.20 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.00 million hectares | 1.90 million hectares | 2.11 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.83 million hectares | 1.74 million hectares | 1.92 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.67 million hectares | 1.58 million hectares | 1.73 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.54 million hectares | 1.51 million hectares | 1.56 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More environment data for South Korea
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 668.25 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 12.91 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 21.02 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.3304 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 3.86 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.1549 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 44.74 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.2523 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.2291 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 18.6 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in South Korea?
- Land use in South Korea was 1.51 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 South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 2.32 million hectares in 1968.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.51 million hectares in 2023.
- How does South Korea rank for land use?
- South Korea ranks 101st out of 223 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 11.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Korea 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).