Land use in Malta
Malta: Land use was 8,291 hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Land use in Malta, 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 Malta stood at 8,291 hectares. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
The figure is down 5.2% on the previous year and down 19.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Malta peaked at 18,000 hectares in 1961 and was at its lowest, 8,291 hectares, in 2023.
That places Malta 185th out of 223 regions 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 | 15,111 hectares | 14,000 hectares | 18,000 hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 13,800 hectares | 13,000 hectares | 14,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 13,000 hectares | 13,000 hectares | 13,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 11,500 hectares | 9,000 hectares | 13,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 9,590 hectares | 9,000 hectares | 10,400 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 10,317 hectares | 10,230 hectares | 10,380 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 8,725 hectares | 8,291 hectares | 9,110 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Malta
- 182 Brunei 10,000 hectares compare
- 183 New Caledonia 9,700 hectares compare
- 184 Saint Lucia 9,570 hectares compare
- 186 Barbados 8,000 hectares compare
- 186 Guam 8,000 hectares compare
- 186 Netherlands Antilles 8,000 hectares compare
More environment data for Malta
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 2.24 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 3.94 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 0.053 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.0007 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 0 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0001 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 0.2389 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0004 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0011 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 0.1836 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in Malta?
- Land use in Malta was 8,291 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 Malta?
- The highest recorded value was 18,000 hectares in 1961.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Malta?
- The lowest recorded value was 8,291 hectares in 2023.
- How does Malta rank for land use?
- Malta ranks 185th out of 223 regions with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Malta?
- Over the last ten years it is down 19.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malta 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).