Permanent meadows and pastures — Area in Europe
Europe: Permanent meadows and pastures — Area was 170,878 1000 ha in 2024. ▼ Falling
Permanent meadows and pastures — Area in Europe, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.
Analysis
In 2024, permanent meadows and pastures — area in Europe stood at 170,878 1000 ha. That is the lowest value across all 64 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.3% on the previous year and down 1.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, permanent meadows and pastures — area in Europe peaked at 409,369 1000 ha in 1989 and was at its lowest, 170,878 1000 ha, in 2024.
That places Europe 20th out of 32 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
Permanent meadows and pastures — Area in Europe, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 390,475 1000 ha | — |
| 1962 | 391,363 1000 ha | +0.2% |
| 1963 | 392,040 1000 ha | +0.2% |
| 1964 | 393,113 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 1965 | 396,327 1000 ha | +0.8% |
| 1966 | 398,612 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1967 | 400,649 1000 ha | +0.5% |
| 1968 | 401,510 1000 ha | +0.2% |
| 1969 | 403,559 1000 ha | +0.5% |
| 1970 | 402,070 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1971 | 402,361 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 1972 | 404,018 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1973 | 406,370 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1974 | 406,527 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 403,986 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 1976 | 405,552 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1977 | 406,615 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 1978 | 406,333 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 1979 | 406,286 1000 ha | -0.0% |
| 1980 | 406,537 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 1981 | 406,203 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 1982 | 408,490 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1983 | 408,376 1000 ha | -0.0% |
| 1984 | 408,223 1000 ha | -0.0% |
| 1985 | 408,627 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 1986 | 408,717 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 406,016 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 1988 | 407,185 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 1989 | 409,369 1000 ha | +0.5% |
| 1990 | 409,167 1000 ha | -0.0% |
| 1991 | 407,118 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 1992 | 179,818 1000 ha | -55.8% |
| 1993 | 179,359 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 1994 | 179,461 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 1995 | 179,236 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 1996 | 179,814 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 1997 | 179,673 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 1998 | 180,826 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1999 | 181,111 1000 ha | +0.2% |
| 2000 | 180,804 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2001 | 181,800 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 2002 | 181,477 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2003 | 181,349 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 180,695 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2005 | 180,888 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 179,908 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2007 | 179,026 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2008 | 179,286 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 178,030 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2010 | 177,521 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 176,827 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2012 | 175,360 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 2013 | 175,637 1000 ha | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 173,862 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2015 | 173,906 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 173,677 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 2017 | 173,475 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 173,103 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 173,867 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 173,625 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 2021 | 173,195 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2022 | 172,652 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2023 | 171,459 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2024 | 170,878 1000 ha | -0.3% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Permanent meadows and pastures — Area in Europe changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | -55.8% | 407,118 1000 ha | 179,818 1000 ha |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 396,405 1000 ha | 390,475 1000 ha | 403,559 1000 ha | 9 |
| 1970s | 405,012 1000 ha | 402,070 1000 ha | 406,615 1000 ha | 10 |
| 1980s | 407,774 1000 ha | 406,016 1000 ha | 409,369 1000 ha | 10 |
| 1990s | 225,558 1000 ha | 179,236 1000 ha | 409,167 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 180,326 1000 ha | 178,030 1000 ha | 181,800 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 174,724 1000 ha | 173,103 1000 ha | 177,521 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 172,362 1000 ha | 170,878 1000 ha | 173,625 1000 ha | 5 |
Countries ranked near Europe
More environment data for Europe
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -1.75 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -3.33 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.435 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.71 °C (2025)
- Total fibre furnish — Production 101.18 million t (2024)
- Recovered paper — Production 57.94 million t (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Production 94.14 million t (2024)
- Other paper and paperboard — Production 73.33 million t (2024)
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Use per area of cropland 49.53 kg/ha (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is permanent meadows and pastures — area in Europe?
- Permanent meadows and pastures — area in Europe was 170,878 1000 ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest permanent meadows and pastures — area recorded in Europe?
- The highest recorded value was 409,369 1000 ha in 1989.
- What is the lowest permanent meadows and pastures — area recorded in Europe?
- The lowest recorded value was 170,878 1000 ha in 2024.
- How does Europe rank for permanent meadows and pastures — area?
- Europe ranks 20th out of 32 groups with data for 2024.
- Is permanent meadows and pastures — area rising or falling in Europe?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Europe data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Permanent meadows and pastures — Area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
The FAOSTAT Land Use domain contains data on twenty-one land use categories and twenty-three categories of irrigation and agricultural practices. Data are available yearly and by country, regional and global levels. The domain includes Land Use Indicators providing information on the percentage share of agricultural and forest land, and their sub-components, including irrigated areas and areas under organic agriculture, within a country land use matrix. Data are available at country, regional and global level, for the following elements: (in percentage) i) Share in Land area; ii) Share in Agricultural land, iii) Share in Cropland; and iv) Share in Forest land; (in ha/pc) v) Area per capita.