Land use in Spain
Spain: Land use was 16.61 million hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Land use in Spain, 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 Spain stood at 16.61 million hectares. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.0% on the previous year and down 3.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Spain peaked at 21.18 million hectares in 1971 and was at its lowest, 16.61 million hectares, in 2023.
Spain ranks 23rd of 223 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 20.60 million hectares | 20.16 million hectares | 20.84 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 20.79 million hectares | 20.52 million hectares | 21.18 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 20.44 million hectares | 20.32 million hectares | 20.51 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 19.32 million hectares | 18.33 million hectares | 20.17 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 17.75 million hectares | 17.22 million hectares | 18.30 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 17.08 million hectares | 16.76 million hectares | 17.54 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 16.66 million hectares | 16.61 million hectares | 16.78 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Spain
More environment data for Spain
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 285.64 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 5.85 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 27.33 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.8102 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 1.37 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.104 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 42.81 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.1099 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.1597 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 12.89 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in Spain?
- Land use in Spain was 16.61 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 Spain?
- The highest recorded value was 21.18 million hectares in 1971.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Spain?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.61 million hectares in 2023.
- How does Spain rank for land use?
- Spain ranks 23rd out of 223 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Spain?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Spain 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).