Land use in Romania
Romania: Land use was 8.81 million hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
8.81 million hectares
Change on year
up 2.4%
World rank
35th
of 224 countries
All-time high
10.71 million hectares
in 1988
All-time low
8.61 million hectares
in 2022
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Land use in Romania, 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 Romania stood at 8.81 million hectares.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.4% on the previous year and down 4.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Romania peaked at 10.71 million hectares in 1988 and was at its lowest, 8.61 million hectares, in 2022.
Romania ranks 35th of 224 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Land use in Romania, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 10.39 million hectares | — |
| 1962 | 10.49 million hectares | +0.9% |
| 1963 | 10.47 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1964 | 10.50 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1965 | 10.47 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1966 | 10.50 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1967 | 10.53 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1968 | 10.56 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1969 | 10.54 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1970 | 10.51 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1971 | 10.51 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1972 | 10.49 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1973 | 10.43 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 1974 | 10.47 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1975 | 10.50 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1976 | 10.52 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1977 | 10.53 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1978 | 10.54 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1979 | 10.48 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 1980 | 10.50 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1981 | 10.51 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1982 | 10.52 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1983 | 10.55 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1984 | 10.57 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1985 | 10.62 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1986 | 10.64 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1987 | 10.69 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1988 | 10.71 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1989 | 10.05 million hectares | -6.1% |
| 1990 | 10.04 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1991 | 10.02 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1992 | 9.96 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 1993 | 9.94 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1994 | 9.93 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1995 | 9.91 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1996 | 9.88 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1997 | 9.90 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1998 | 9.84 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 1999 | 9.85 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 9.91 million hectares | +0.6% |
| 2001 | 9.86 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2002 | 9.86 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2003 | 9.84 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 2004 | 9.34 million hectares | -5.1% |
| 2005 | 9.49 million hectares | +1.6% |
| 2006 | 9.41 million hectares | -0.9% |
| 2007 | 9.14 million hectares | -2.9% |
| 2008 | 9.18 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 2009 | 9.25 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 2010 | 9.61 million hectares | +3.9% |
| 2011 | 9.44 million hectares | -1.8% |
| 2012 | 9.24 million hectares | -2.1% |
| 2013 | 9.19 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 2014 | 9.20 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 9.20 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 9.00 million hectares | -2.2% |
| 2017 | 8.96 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 9.13 million hectares | +1.9% |
| 2019 | 9.38 million hectares | +2.8% |
| 2020 | 8.89 million hectares | -5.2% |
| 2021 | 8.99 million hectares | +1.2% |
| 2022 | 8.61 million hectares | -4.3% |
| 2023 | 8.81 million hectares | +2.4% |
Romania compared with similar countries
- Romania's 8.81 million hectares is above the median for high income countries, which is 303,040 hectares, 29.1× the median. (78 countries reporting)
- Romania's 8.81 million hectares is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.39 million hectares, 6.4× the median. (53 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 10.50 million hectares | 10.39 million hectares | 10.56 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 10.50 million hectares | 10.43 million hectares | 10.54 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 10.54 million hectares | 10.05 million hectares | 10.71 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 9.93 million hectares | 9.84 million hectares | 10.04 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 9.53 million hectares | 9.14 million hectares | 9.91 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.23 million hectares | 8.96 million hectares | 9.61 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.82 million hectares | 8.61 million hectares | 8.99 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Romania
More environment data for Romania
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.68 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.2 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.634 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.03 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.5647 % 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 -0.1112 % 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 Romania?
- Land use in Romania was 8.81 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 Romania?
- The highest recorded value was 10.71 million hectares in 1988.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Romania?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.61 million hectares in 2022.
- How does Romania rank for land use?
- Romania ranks 35th out of 224 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Romania?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Romania 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).