Land use in Sweden
Sweden: Land use was 2.53 million hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Land use in Sweden, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
The most recent figure for land use in Sweden is 2.53 million hectares, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.1% on the previous year and down 2.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Sweden peaked at 3.55 million hectares in 1961 and was at its lowest, 2.53 million hectares, in 2023.
That places Sweden 82nd out of 223 countries with data for 2023, putting it 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 | 3.23 million hectares | 3.03 million hectares | 3.55 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 3.02 million hectares | 2.98 million hectares | 3.05 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.92 million hectares | 2.85 million hectares | 2.98 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.79 million hectares | 2.75 million hectares | 2.85 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.65 million hectares | 2.60 million hectares | 2.69 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.58 million hectares | 2.54 million hectares | 2.62 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.54 million hectares | 2.53 million hectares | 2.54 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sweden
More environment data for Sweden
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 52.57 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 4.97 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 3.79 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.3307 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 0.2101 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.2019 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 8.12 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.1974 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0287 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 3.35 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in Sweden?
- Land use in Sweden was 2.53 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 Sweden?
- The highest recorded value was 3.55 million hectares in 1961.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Sweden?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.53 million hectares in 2023.
- How does Sweden rank for land use?
- Sweden ranks 82nd out of 223 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Sweden?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sweden 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).