Land use in Netherlands
Netherlands: Land use was 1.04 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Land use in Netherlands, 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 Netherlands stood at 1.04 million hectares.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.3% on the previous year and down 2.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Netherlands peaked at 1.16 million hectares in 2004 and was at its lowest, 841,400 hectares, in 1973.
Netherlands ranks 113th 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 | 963,156 hectares | 899,000 hectares | 1.03 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 855,860 hectares | 841,400 hectares | 875,200 hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 898,130 hectares | 865,900 hectares | 938,500 hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 962,210 hectares | 925,300 hectares | 1.05 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.10 million hectares | 1.04 million hectares | 1.16 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.06 million hectares | 1.04 million hectares | 1.08 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.04 million hectares | 1.04 million hectares | 1.04 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Netherlands
More environment data for Netherlands
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 145.01 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 8.06 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 12.14 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.2748 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 1.43 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0143 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 17.05 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.1323 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0619 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 2.92 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in Netherlands?
- Land use in Netherlands was 1.04 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 Netherlands?
- The highest recorded value was 1.16 million hectares in 2004.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Netherlands?
- The lowest recorded value was 841,400 hectares in 1973.
- How does Netherlands rank for land use?
- Netherlands ranks 113th out of 223 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Netherlands?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Netherlands 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).