Land statistics 2001–2024 Global, regional and country trends

https://openknowledge.fao.org/items/fbfbe167-5026-4aa1-b985-2468507d5dc1 Land statistics describe the human use of the land surface for different purposes and economic activities (land use), as well as the biophysical characteristics associated to both human and natural systems (land cover). Land use data are collected from countries via the FAO land use, irrigation and agricultural practices questionnaire, following the FAO land use definitions first developed by the World Census of Agriculture and later adopted by the System of Economic and Environmental Accounts. Land cover data are compiled from global remote sensing maps following the SEEA land cover classification.This analytical brief reports the main results and changes over time in land statistics and indicators with details at the global, regional and country level during the 2001–2024 period, with a focus on agriculture.In 2024, global agricultural land was 4 600 million hectares (ha), more than one-third of the global land area. Within agricultural land, cropland covered about 1 600 million ha while permanent meadows and pastures covered around 3 100 million ha.