Land use in East Timor
East Timor: Land use was 191,400 hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
191,400 hectares
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
146th
of 224 countries
All-time high
193,000 hectares
in 1997
All-time low
80,000 hectares
in 1961
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Land use in East Timor, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
East Timor recorded 191,400 hectares for land use in 2023.
The figure is up 0.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in East Timor peaked at 193,000 hectares in 1997 and was at its lowest, 80,000 hectares, in 1961.
East Timor ranks 146th of 224 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Land use in East Timor, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 80,000 hectares | — |
| 1962 | 80,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 80,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 80,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 80,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 80,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 82,000 hectares | +2.5% |
| 1968 | 82,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 83,000 hectares | +1.2% |
| 1970 | 93,000 hectares | +12.0% |
| 1971 | 93,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 95,000 hectares | +2.2% |
| 1973 | 100,000 hectares | +5.3% |
| 1974 | 100,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 105,000 hectares | +5.0% |
| 1976 | 108,000 hectares | +2.9% |
| 1977 | 112,000 hectares | +3.7% |
| 1978 | 121,000 hectares | +8.0% |
| 1979 | 126,000 hectares | +4.1% |
| 1980 | 129,000 hectares | +2.4% |
| 1981 | 132,000 hectares | +2.3% |
| 1982 | 134,000 hectares | +1.5% |
| 1983 | 136,000 hectares | +1.5% |
| 1984 | 139,000 hectares | +2.2% |
| 1985 | 142,000 hectares | +2.2% |
| 1986 | 145,000 hectares | +2.1% |
| 1987 | 149,000 hectares | +2.8% |
| 1988 | 153,000 hectares | +2.7% |
| 1989 | 155,000 hectares | +1.3% |
| 1990 | 168,000 hectares | +8.4% |
| 1991 | 180,000 hectares | +7.1% |
| 1992 | 180,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 185,000 hectares | +2.8% |
| 1994 | 190,000 hectares | +2.7% |
| 1995 | 190,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 192,000 hectares | +1.1% |
| 1997 | 193,000 hectares | +0.5% |
| 1998 | 191,000 hectares | -1.0% |
| 1999 | 187,000 hectares | -2.1% |
| 2000 | 187,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 186,600 hectares | -0.2% |
| 2002 | 186,200 hectares | -0.2% |
| 2003 | 183,800 hectares | -1.3% |
| 2004 | 183,400 hectares | -0.2% |
| 2005 | 183,000 hectares | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 182,600 hectares | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 182,200 hectares | -0.2% |
| 2008 | 186,800 hectares | +2.5% |
| 2009 | 188,400 hectares | +0.9% |
| 2010 | 188,000 hectares | -0.2% |
| 2011 | 188,600 hectares | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 189,100 hectares | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 189,600 hectares | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 190,100 hectares | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 190,600 hectares | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 191,100 hectares | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 191,600 hectares | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 192,100 hectares | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 191,400 hectares | -0.4% |
| 2020 | 191,400 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 191,400 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 191,400 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 191,400 hectares | +0.0% |
East Timor compared with similar countries
- East Timor's 191,400 hectares is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 2.82 million hectares, 7% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- East Timor's 191,400 hectares is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 141,800 hectares, 1.3× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 80,778 hectares | 80,000 hectares | 83,000 hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 105,300 hectares | 93,000 hectares | 126,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 141,400 hectares | 129,000 hectares | 155,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 185,600 hectares | 168,000 hectares | 193,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 185,000 hectares | 182,200 hectares | 188,400 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 190,220 hectares | 188,000 hectares | 192,100 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 191,400 hectares | 191,400 hectares | 191,400 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near East Timor
More environment data for East Timor
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 3.36 % 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 3.32 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), annual 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per unit of 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) (Mt CO2e) -3.97 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in East Timor?
- Land use in East Timor was 191,400 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 East Timor?
- The highest recorded value was 193,000 hectares in 1997.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in East Timor?
- The lowest recorded value was 80,000 hectares in 1961.
- How does East Timor rank for land use?
- East Timor ranks 146th out of 224 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in East Timor?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this East Timor 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).