Share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in Sweden
Sweden: Share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures was 1.11 percent in 2023. ▼ Falling
Share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in Sweden, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in percent.
Analysis
In 2023, share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in Sweden stood at 1.11 percent.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.6% on the previous year and up 1.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in Sweden peaked at 1.8 percent in 1976 and was at its lowest, 0.91 percent, in 2000.
That places Sweden 186th out of 209 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in Sweden, year by year
| Year | percent | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1.68 percent | — |
| 1962 | 1.68 percent | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 1.68 percent | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 1.68 percent | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 1.68 percent | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 1.68 percent | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 1.68 percent | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 1.69 percent | +0.6% |
| 1969 | 1.69 percent | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 1.72 percent | +1.8% |
| 1971 | 1.74 percent | +1.2% |
| 1972 | 1.73 percent | -0.6% |
| 1973 | 1.72 percent | -0.6% |
| 1974 | 1.76 percent | +2.3% |
| 1975 | 1.77 percent | +0.6% |
| 1976 | 1.8 percent | +1.7% |
| 1977 | 1.79 percent | -0.6% |
| 1978 | 1.79 percent | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 1.78 percent | -0.6% |
| 1980 | 1.78 percent | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 1.76 percent | -1.1% |
| 1982 | 1.74 percent | -1.1% |
| 1983 | 1.71 percent | -1.7% |
| 1984 | 1.66 percent | -2.9% |
| 1985 | 1.4 percent | -15.7% |
| 1986 | 1.39 percent | -0.7% |
| 1987 | 1.39 percent | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 1.39 percent | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 1.39 percent | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 1.39 percent | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 1.39 percent | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 1.41 percent | +1.4% |
| 1993 | 1.41 percent | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 1.41 percent | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 1.23 percent | -12.8% |
| 1996 | 1.19 percent | -3.3% |
| 1997 | 1.13 percent | -5.0% |
| 1998 | 1.1 percent | -2.7% |
| 1999 | 1.1 percent | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 0.91 percent | -17.3% |
| 2001 | 0.91 percent | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 1.18 percent | +29.7% |
| 2003 | 1.19 percent | +0.8% |
| 2004 | 1.24 percent | +4.2% |
| 2005 | 1.25 percent | +0.8% |
| 2006 | 1.23 percent | -1.6% |
| 2007 | 1.19 percent | -3.3% |
| 2008 | 1.12 percent | -5.9% |
| 2009 | 1.07 percent | -4.5% |
| 2010 | 1.11 percent | +3.7% |
| 2011 | 1.08 percent | -2.7% |
| 2012 | 1.07 percent | -0.9% |
| 2013 | 1.09 percent | +1.9% |
| 2014 | 1.07 percent | -1.8% |
| 2015 | 1.1 percent | +2.8% |
| 2016 | 1.11 percent | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 1.11 percent | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 1.12 percent | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 1.13 percent | +0.9% |
| 2020 | 1.14 percent | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 1.14 percent | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 1.14 percent | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 1.11 percent | -2.6% |
Sweden compared with similar countries
- Sweden's 1.11 percent is below the median for high income countries, which is 9.66 percent, 11% of the median. (71 countries reporting)
- Sweden's 1.11 percent is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 15.31 percent, 7% of the median. (53 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in Sweden 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | +29.7% | 0.91 percent | 1.18 percent |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.68 percent | 1.68 percent | 1.69 percent | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.76 percent | 1.72 percent | 1.8 percent | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.56 percent | 1.39 percent | 1.78 percent | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.28 percent | 1.1 percent | 1.41 percent | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.13 percent | 0.91 percent | 1.25 percent | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.1 percent | 1.07 percent | 1.13 percent | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.13 percent | 1.11 percent | 1.14 percent | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sweden
More reference data data for Sweden
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.4328 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.2237 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.68 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2063 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.68 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.45 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.9766 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.13 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 8.03 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.12 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in Sweden?
- Share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in Sweden was 1.11 percent 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 share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures recorded in Sweden?
- The highest recorded value was 1.8 percent in 1976.
- What is the lowest share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures recorded in Sweden?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.91 percent in 2000.
- How does Sweden rank for share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures?
- Sweden ranks 186th out of 209 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures rising or falling in Sweden?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sweden 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 Share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures. 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).
About this data
Permanent meadows and pastures are areas used permanently (five years or more) for herbaceous forage crops, either cultivated or growing wild (wild prairie or grazing land).