Land use in Nepal
Nepal: Land use was 1.95 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
1.95 million hectares
Change on year
down 0.0%
World rank
91st
of 223 countries
All-time high
2.47 million hectares
in 2001
All-time low
1.83 million hectares
in 1961
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Land use in Nepal, 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 Nepal stood at 1.95 million hectares.
The figure is down 13.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Nepal peaked at 2.47 million hectares in 2001 and was at its lowest, 1.83 million hectares, in 1961.
Nepal ranks 91st of 223 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.84 million hectares | 1.83 million hectares | 1.84 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.17 million hectares | 1.98 million hectares | 2.28 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.33 million hectares | 2.30 million hectares | 2.35 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.40 million hectares | 2.35 million hectares | 2.45 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.42 million hectares | 2.35 million hectares | 2.47 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.21 million hectares | 2.04 million hectares | 2.33 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.97 million hectares | 1.95 million hectares | 2.00 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Nepal
More environment data for Nepal
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 41.47 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 1.4 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 15.2 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 3.21 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 0.0608 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0611 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 20.59 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0256 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 2.05 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in Nepal?
- Land use in Nepal was 1.95 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 Nepal?
- The highest recorded value was 2.47 million hectares in 2001.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Nepal?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.83 million hectares in 1961.
- How does Nepal rank for land use?
- Nepal ranks 91st out of 223 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Nepal?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Nepal 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).