Land use in Portugal
Portugal: Land use was 1.81 million hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Land use in Portugal, 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 Portugal stood at 1.81 million hectares.
The figure is up 0.5% on the previous year and down 4.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Portugal peaked at 3.17 million hectares in 1988 and was at its lowest, 1.74 million hectares, in 2017.
Portugal ranks 93rd of 223 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.06 million hectares | 3.04 million hectares | 3.08 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 3.12 million hectares | 3.09 million hectares | 3.14 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.15 million hectares | 3.14 million hectares | 3.17 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.83 million hectares | 2.43 million hectares | 3.12 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.17 million hectares | 1.88 million hectares | 2.54 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.82 million hectares | 1.74 million hectares | 1.88 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.82 million hectares | 1.80 million hectares | 1.84 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Portugal
More environment data for Portugal
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 53.17 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 4.97 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 4.92 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.296 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 0.9579 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0441 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 11.4 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0464 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0253 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 5.1 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in Portugal?
- Land use in Portugal was 1.81 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 Portugal?
- The highest recorded value was 3.17 million hectares in 1988.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Portugal?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.74 million hectares in 2017.
- How does Portugal rank for land use?
- Portugal ranks 93rd out of 223 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Portugal?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Portugal 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).