Land use in Taiwan
Taiwan: Land use was 779,000 hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
779,000 hectares
Change on year
down 0.1%
World rank
120th
of 224 countries
All-time high
923,000 hectares
in 1977
All-time low
779,000 hectares
in 2023
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Land use in Taiwan, 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 Taiwan stood at 779,000 hectares. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.1% on the previous year and down 2.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Taiwan peaked at 923,000 hectares in 1977 and was at its lowest, 779,000 hectares, in 2023.
Taiwan ranks 120th of 224 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.
Land use in Taiwan, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 884,000 hectares | — |
| 1962 | 887,000 hectares | +0.3% |
| 1963 | 890,000 hectares | +0.3% |
| 1964 | 893,000 hectares | +0.3% |
| 1965 | 896,000 hectares | +0.3% |
| 1966 | 899,000 hectares | +0.3% |
| 1967 | 902,000 hectares | +0.3% |
| 1968 | 900,000 hectares | -0.2% |
| 1969 | 915,000 hectares | +1.7% |
| 1970 | 905,000 hectares | -1.1% |
| 1971 | 903,000 hectares | -0.2% |
| 1972 | 899,000 hectares | -0.4% |
| 1973 | 896,000 hectares | -0.3% |
| 1974 | 917,000 hectares | +2.3% |
| 1975 | 917,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 920,000 hectares | +0.3% |
| 1977 | 923,000 hectares | +0.3% |
| 1978 | 918,000 hectares | -0.5% |
| 1979 | 915,000 hectares | -0.3% |
| 1980 | 907,000 hectares | -0.9% |
| 1981 | 900,000 hectares | -0.8% |
| 1982 | 891,000 hectares | -1.0% |
| 1983 | 894,000 hectares | +0.3% |
| 1984 | 892,000 hectares | -0.2% |
| 1985 | 888,000 hectares | -0.4% |
| 1986 | 888,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 886,000 hectares | -0.2% |
| 1988 | 895,000 hectares | +1.0% |
| 1989 | 895,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 890,000 hectares | -0.6% |
| 1991 | 884,000 hectares | -0.7% |
| 1992 | 876,000 hectares | -0.9% |
| 1993 | 875,000 hectares | -0.1% |
| 1994 | 872,000 hectares | -0.3% |
| 1995 | 873,000 hectares | +0.1% |
| 1996 | 872,000 hectares | -0.1% |
| 1997 | 865,000 hectares | -0.8% |
| 1998 | 859,000 hectares | -0.7% |
| 1999 | 855,000 hectares | -0.5% |
| 2000 | 851,000 hectares | -0.5% |
| 2001 | 849,000 hectares | -0.2% |
| 2002 | 847,000 hectares | -0.2% |
| 2003 | 844,000 hectares | -0.4% |
| 2004 | 836,000 hectares | -0.9% |
| 2005 | 833,000 hectares | -0.4% |
| 2006 | 830,000 hectares | -0.4% |
| 2007 | 826,000 hectares | -0.5% |
| 2008 | 822,000 hectares | -0.5% |
| 2009 | 815,000 hectares | -0.9% |
| 2010 | 813,000 hectares | -0.2% |
| 2011 | 808,000 hectares | -0.6% |
| 2012 | 803,000 hectares | -0.6% |
| 2013 | 800,000 hectares | -0.4% |
| 2014 | 799,600 hectares | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 796,600 hectares | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 794,000 hectares | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 793,000 hectares | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 790,700 hectares | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 790,200 hectares | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 790,100 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2021 | 787,000 hectares | -0.4% |
| 2022 | 780,000 hectares | -0.9% |
| 2023 | 779,000 hectares | -0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 896,222 hectares | 884,000 hectares | 915,000 hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 911,300 hectares | 896,000 hectares | 923,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 893,600 hectares | 886,000 hectares | 907,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 872,100 hectares | 855,000 hectares | 890,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 835,300 hectares | 815,000 hectares | 851,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 798,810 hectares | 790,200 hectares | 813,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 784,025 hectares | 779,000 hectares | 790,100 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Taiwan
More environment data for Taiwan
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 0.5363 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 0.4698 Percentage change (2025)
- Exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -4.56 Percentage change (2024)
- Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -1.47 Percentage change (2024)
- Land use hidden — Total area 35,960 Square kilometres (2023)
- Land use hidden — Cropland 7,790 Square kilometres (2023)
- Land use hidden — Other areas 27,620 Square kilometres (2023)
- Land use hidden — Land area 35,410 Square kilometres (2023)
- Emissions of air pollutants 368,369 tonnes (2022)
- Exposure to air pollution from human sources 15.01 micrograms per cubic meter (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in Taiwan?
- Land use in Taiwan was 779,000 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 Taiwan?
- The highest recorded value was 923,000 hectares in 1977.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Taiwan?
- The lowest recorded value was 779,000 hectares in 2023.
- How does Taiwan rank for land use?
- Taiwan ranks 120th out of 224 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Taiwan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Taiwan 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).