Land use in Mexico
Mexico: Land use was 24.45 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
24.45 million hectares
Change on year
down 1.5%
World rank
15th
of 224 countries
All-time high
26.14 million hectares
in 2007
All-time low
19.14 million hectares
in 1970
Years of data
63
1961–2023
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 15th of 224 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Land use in Mexico, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 20.82 million hectares | — |
| 1962 | 20.68 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 1963 | 20.61 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1964 | 20.55 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1965 | 20.48 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1966 | 20.41 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1967 | 20.34 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 1968 | 20.27 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1969 | 20.21 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1970 | 19.14 million hectares | -5.3% |
| 1971 | 19.18 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1972 | 19.21 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1973 | 19.29 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1974 | 19.27 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1975 | 19.30 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1976 | 19.33 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1977 | 19.41 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1978 | 19.43 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1979 | 19.27 million hectares | -0.9% |
| 1980 | 19.47 million hectares | +1.1% |
| 1981 | 19.67 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 1982 | 19.80 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 1983 | 20.35 million hectares | +2.8% |
| 1984 | 20.25 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 1985 | 20.36 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1986 | 20.46 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1987 | 21.47 million hectares | +4.9% |
| 1988 | 21.88 million hectares | +1.9% |
| 1989 | 22.78 million hectares | +4.1% |
| 1990 | 23.79 million hectares | +4.4% |
| 1991 | 24.70 million hectares | +3.8% |
| 1992 | 24.76 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1993 | 24.82 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1994 | 24.89 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1995 | 24.95 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1996 | 25.12 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 1997 | 25.18 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 25.25 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1999 | 25.31 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2000 | 25.38 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 25.64 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 2002 | 25.71 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 25.77 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 25.84 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 25.90 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 25.97 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 26.14 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 2008 | 25.96 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2009 | 25.77 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2010 | 25.58 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2011 | 25.40 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2012 | 25.21 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2013 | 25.02 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2014 | 24.84 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2015 | 24.74 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 24.37 million hectares | -1.5% |
| 2017 | 22.93 million hectares | -5.9% |
| 2018 | 22.61 million hectares | -1.4% |
| 2019 | 22.13 million hectares | -2.1% |
| 2020 | 25.90 million hectares | +17.0% |
| 2021 | 25.93 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 24.81 million hectares | -4.3% |
| 2023 | 24.45 million hectares | -1.5% |
Mexico compared with similar countries
- Mexico's 24.45 million hectares is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.58 million hectares, 15.5× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Mexico's 24.45 million hectares is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 544,348 hectares, 44.9× the median. (39 countries reporting)
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
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 0.6859 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 0.6189 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.234 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.62 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.1645 % 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 -0.5194 % 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 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 15th out of 224 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).