Land use in Switzerland
Switzerland: Land use was 421,731 hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Land use in Switzerland, 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 Switzerland is 421,731 hectares, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of down 1.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Switzerland peaked at 445,687 hectares in 1995 and was at its lowest, 372,700 hectares, in 1970.
That places Switzerland 137th out of 223 countries with data for 2023, putting it 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 | 391,978 hectares | 376,100 hectares | 410,200 hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 384,794 hectares | 372,700 hectares | 396,738 hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 419,409 hectares | 402,597 hectares | 432,095 hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 435,830 hectares | 426,354 hectares | 445,687 hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 430,055 hectares | 428,776 hectares | 432,673 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 425,198 hectares | 423,088 hectares | 427,768 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 422,278 hectares | 420,690 hectares | 425,037 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Switzerland
More environment data for Switzerland
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 42.99 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 4.77 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 4.05 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.2549 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 1.29 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0203 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 5.94 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0476 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0228 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 0.2474 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in Switzerland?
- Land use in Switzerland was 421,731 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 Switzerland?
- The highest recorded value was 445,687 hectares in 1995.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Switzerland?
- The lowest recorded value was 372,700 hectares in 1970.
- How does Switzerland rank for land use?
- Switzerland ranks 137th out of 223 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Switzerland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Switzerland 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.
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CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).