Land use in Mexico
Mexico: Land use was 24.45 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Land use in Mexico, 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 Mexico is 24.45 million hectares, measured in 2023.
The figure is down 1.5% on the previous year and down 2.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Mexico peaked at 26.14 million hectares in 2007 and was at its lowest, 19.14 million hectares, in 1970.
Mexico ranks 14th 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 | 20.49 million hectares | 20.21 million hectares | 20.82 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 19.28 million hectares | 19.14 million hectares | 19.43 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 20.65 million hectares | 19.47 million hectares | 22.78 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 24.88 million hectares | 23.79 million hectares | 25.31 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 25.81 million hectares | 25.38 million hectares | 26.14 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 24.28 million hectares | 22.13 million hectares | 25.58 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 25.27 million hectares | 24.45 million hectares | 25.93 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Mexico
More environment data for Mexico
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 686.78 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 5.25 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 87.24 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 2.11 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 11.8 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0973 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 150.68 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.2057 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.6771 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 48.48 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in Mexico?
- Land use in Mexico was 24.45 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 Mexico?
- The highest recorded value was 26.14 million hectares in 2007.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Mexico?
- The lowest recorded value was 19.14 million hectares in 1970.
- How does Mexico rank for land use?
- Mexico ranks 14th out of 223 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Mexico?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Mexico 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).