Land use in Uruguay
Uruguay: Land use was 2.24 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Land use in Uruguay, 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 Uruguay stood at 2.24 million hectares.
That represents a change of up 3.9% on the previous year and down 4.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Uruguay peaked at 2.51 million hectares in 1961 and was at its lowest, 1.29 million hectares, in 1990.
That places Uruguay 88th 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 | 2.27 million hectares | 2.00 million hectares | 2.51 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.67 million hectares | 1.49 million hectares | 1.85 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.38 million hectares | 1.30 million hectares | 1.45 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.34 million hectares | 1.29 million hectares | 1.40 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.56 million hectares | 1.42 million hectares | 2.23 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.28 million hectares | 2.07 million hectares | 2.48 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.13 million hectares | 2.06 million hectares | 2.24 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Uruguay
More environment data for Uruguay
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 44.63 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 13.18 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 22.96 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.1213 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 0.0428 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0578 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 28.5 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0117 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0191 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 5.28 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in Uruguay?
- Land use in Uruguay was 2.24 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 Uruguay?
- The highest recorded value was 2.51 million hectares in 1961.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Uruguay?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.29 million hectares in 1990.
- How does Uruguay rank for land use?
- Uruguay ranks 88th out of 223 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Uruguay?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Uruguay 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).