Land use in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Land use was 6.09 million hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Land use in United Kingdom, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
United Kingdom recorded 6.09 million hectares for land use in 2023.
The figure is down 3.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in United Kingdom peaked at 7.47 million hectares in 1964 and was at its lowest, 5.70 million hectares, in 2001.
United Kingdom ranks 47th of 223 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 7.38 million hectares | 7.26 million hectares | 7.47 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 7.08 million hectares | 6.91 million hectares | 7.23 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 6.97 million hectares | 6.77 million hectares | 7.06 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 6.29 million hectares | 5.97 million hectares | 6.69 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.92 million hectares | 5.70 million hectares | 6.14 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.14 million hectares | 6.02 million hectares | 6.31 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.06 million hectares | 6.02 million hectares | 6.09 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More environment data for United Kingdom
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 386.7 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 5.58 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 31.55 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.7351 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 3.35 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.078 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 58.88 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.3113 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.1931 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 22.62 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in United Kingdom?
- Land use in United Kingdom was 6.09 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 United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 7.47 million hectares in 1964.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.70 million hectares in 2001.
- How does United Kingdom rank for land use?
- United Kingdom ranks 47th out of 223 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United Kingdom 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).