Share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in Switzerland
Switzerland: Share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures was 27.12 percent in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
27.12 percent
Change on year
down 0.3%
World rank
61st
of 209 countries
All-time high
33.6 percent
in 1961
All-time low
27.12 percent
in 2023
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in Switzerland, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in percent.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in Switzerland is 27.12 percent, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
The figure is down 0.3% on the previous year and down 2.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in Switzerland peaked at 33.6 percent in 1961 and was at its lowest, 27.12 percent, in 2023.
Switzerland ranks 61st of 209 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
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 Switzerland, year by year
| Year | percent | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 33.6 percent | — |
| 1962 | 33.48 percent | -0.4% |
| 1963 | 33.35 percent | -0.4% |
| 1964 | 33.23 percent | -0.4% |
| 1965 | 33.11 percent | -0.4% |
| 1966 | 33.12 percent | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 33.13 percent | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 33.14 percent | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 33.15 percent | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 32.92 percent | -0.7% |
| 1971 | 32.68 percent | -0.7% |
| 1972 | 32.45 percent | -0.7% |
| 1973 | 32.22 percent | -0.7% |
| 1974 | 31.99 percent | -0.7% |
| 1975 | 31.76 percent | -0.7% |
| 1976 | 31.71 percent | -0.2% |
| 1977 | 31.67 percent | -0.1% |
| 1978 | 31.62 percent | -0.2% |
| 1979 | 31.93 percent | +1.0% |
| 1980 | 31.64 percent | -0.9% |
| 1981 | 31.43 percent | -0.7% |
| 1982 | 31.2 percent | -0.7% |
| 1983 | 30.94 percent | -0.8% |
| 1984 | 30.62 percent | -1.0% |
| 1985 | 30.4 percent | -0.7% |
| 1986 | 30.3 percent | -0.3% |
| 1987 | 30.31 percent | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 30.1 percent | -0.7% |
| 1989 | 29.81 percent | -1.0% |
| 1990 | 29.82 percent | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 29.61 percent | -0.7% |
| 1992 | 29.52 percent | -0.3% |
| 1993 | 29.31 percent | -0.7% |
| 1994 | 28.94 percent | -1.3% |
| 1995 | 28.75 percent | -0.7% |
| 1996 | 28.7 percent | -0.2% |
| 1997 | 28.78 percent | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 28.74 percent | -0.1% |
| 1999 | 28.74 percent | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 28.69 percent | -0.2% |
| 2001 | 28.59 percent | -0.3% |
| 2002 | 28.54 percent | -0.2% |
| 2003 | 28.52 percent | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 28.46 percent | -0.2% |
| 2005 | 28.38 percent | -0.3% |
| 2006 | 28.29 percent | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 28.22 percent | -0.2% |
| 2008 | 28.14 percent | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 28.05 percent | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 28.01 percent | -0.1% |
| 2011 | 27.94 percent | -0.2% |
| 2012 | 27.85 percent | -0.3% |
| 2013 | 27.77 percent | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 27.75 percent | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 27.71 percent | -0.1% |
| 2016 | 27.61 percent | -0.4% |
| 2017 | 27.55 percent | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 27.47 percent | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 27.38 percent | -0.3% |
| 2020 | 27.27 percent | -0.4% |
| 2021 | 27.3 percent | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 27.2 percent | -0.4% |
| 2023 | 27.12 percent | -0.3% |
Switzerland compared with similar countries
- Switzerland's 27.12 percent is above the median for high income countries, which is 9.66 percent, 2.8× the median. (71 countries reporting)
- Switzerland's 27.12 percent is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 15.31 percent, 1.8× the median. (53 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 33.26 percent | 33.11 percent | 33.6 percent | 9 |
| 1970s | 32.09 percent | 31.62 percent | 32.92 percent | 10 |
| 1980s | 30.68 percent | 29.81 percent | 31.64 percent | 10 |
| 1990s | 29.09 percent | 28.7 percent | 29.82 percent | 10 |
| 2000s | 28.39 percent | 28.05 percent | 28.69 percent | 10 |
| 2010s | 27.7 percent | 27.38 percent | 28.01 percent | 10 |
| 2020s | 27.22 percent | 27.12 percent | 27.3 percent | 4 |
Countries ranked near Switzerland
More reference data data for Switzerland
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.5507 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.2683 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.24 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.05 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.24 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.85 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.28 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 6.28 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.272 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in Switzerland?
- Share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in Switzerland was 27.12 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 Switzerland?
- The highest recorded value was 33.6 percent in 1961.
- What is the lowest share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures recorded in Switzerland?
- The lowest recorded value was 27.12 percent in 2023.
- How does Switzerland rank for share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures?
- Switzerland ranks 61st out of 209 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures rising or falling in Switzerland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Switzerland 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).