Land use in Uruguay
Uruguay: Land use was 2.24 million hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
2.24 million hectares
Change on year
up 3.9%
World rank
89th
of 224 countries
All-time high
2.51 million hectares
in 1961
All-time low
1.29 million hectares
in 1990
Years of data
63
1961–2023
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 89th out of 224 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.
Land use in Uruguay, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 2.51 million hectares | — |
| 1962 | 2.45 million hectares | -2.3% |
| 1963 | 2.39 million hectares | -2.4% |
| 1964 | 2.33 million hectares | -2.4% |
| 1965 | 2.28 million hectares | -2.5% |
| 1966 | 2.22 million hectares | -2.5% |
| 1967 | 2.15 million hectares | -3.3% |
| 1968 | 2.07 million hectares | -3.4% |
| 1969 | 2.00 million hectares | -3.6% |
| 1970 | 1.85 million hectares | -7.3% |
| 1971 | 1.81 million hectares | -2.2% |
| 1972 | 1.77 million hectares | -2.3% |
| 1973 | 1.73 million hectares | -2.3% |
| 1974 | 1.69 million hectares | -2.3% |
| 1975 | 1.65 million hectares | -2.4% |
| 1976 | 1.61 million hectares | -2.5% |
| 1977 | 1.57 million hectares | -2.5% |
| 1978 | 1.53 million hectares | -2.5% |
| 1979 | 1.49 million hectares | -2.7% |
| 1980 | 1.45 million hectares | -2.7% |
| 1981 | 1.43 million hectares | -1.1% |
| 1982 | 1.42 million hectares | -1.2% |
| 1983 | 1.40 million hectares | -1.1% |
| 1984 | 1.38 million hectares | -1.1% |
| 1985 | 1.37 million hectares | -1.2% |
| 1986 | 1.35 million hectares | -1.2% |
| 1987 | 1.33 million hectares | -1.2% |
| 1988 | 1.32 million hectares | -1.2% |
| 1989 | 1.30 million hectares | -1.3% |
| 1990 | 1.29 million hectares | -1.2% |
| 1991 | 1.30 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 1992 | 1.31 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 1993 | 1.32 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 1994 | 1.34 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 1995 | 1.35 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 1996 | 1.36 million hectares | +0.9% |
| 1997 | 1.38 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 1998 | 1.39 million hectares | +0.9% |
| 1999 | 1.40 million hectares | +0.9% |
| 2000 | 1.42 million hectares | +0.9% |
| 2001 | 1.42 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 1.42 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 1.43 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 1.43 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2005 | 1.43 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 1.43 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 1.51 million hectares | +5.7% |
| 2008 | 1.86 million hectares | +23.2% |
| 2009 | 2.23 million hectares | +19.7% |
| 2010 | 2.07 million hectares | -7.0% |
| 2011 | 2.39 million hectares | +15.5% |
| 2012 | 2.20 million hectares | -8.0% |
| 2013 | 2.35 million hectares | +6.7% |
| 2014 | 2.48 million hectares | +5.5% |
| 2015 | 2.47 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 2.27 million hectares | -8.2% |
| 2017 | 2.22 million hectares | -1.9% |
| 2018 | 2.19 million hectares | -1.4% |
| 2019 | 2.13 million hectares | -2.9% |
| 2020 | 2.06 million hectares | -3.0% |
| 2021 | 2.07 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 2.15 million hectares | +4.1% |
| 2023 | 2.24 million hectares | +3.9% |
Uruguay compared with similar countries
- Uruguay's 2.24 million hectares is above the median for high income countries, which is 303,040 hectares, 7.4× the median. (78 countries reporting)
- Uruguay's 2.24 million hectares is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 544,348 hectares, 4.1× the median. (39 countries reporting)
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
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -3.58 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -3.3 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.385 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.622 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 3.96 % 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 3.64 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (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 89th out of 224 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).