Area of permanent meadows and pastures in Belgium
Belgium: Area of permanent meadows and pastures was 466,940 hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Area of permanent meadows and pastures in Belgium, 2000–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
In 2023, area of permanent meadows and pastures in Belgium stood at 466,940 hectares. That is the lowest value across all 24 years on record.
That represents a change of down 1.0% on the previous year and down 6.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, area of permanent meadows and pastures in Belgium peaked at 536,000 hectares in 2002 and was at its lowest, 466,940 hectares, in 2023.
That places Belgium 129th out of 209 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Area of permanent meadows and pastures in Belgium, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 507,000 hectares | — |
| 2001 | 521,000 hectares | +2.8% |
| 2002 | 536,000 hectares | +2.9% |
| 2003 | 536,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 530,000 hectares | -1.1% |
| 2005 | 519,000 hectares | -2.1% |
| 2006 | 517,000 hectares | -0.4% |
| 2007 | 507,000 hectares | -1.9% |
| 2008 | 500,000 hectares | -1.4% |
| 2009 | 502,000 hectares | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 500,000 hectares | -0.4% |
| 2011 | 489,000 hectares | -2.2% |
| 2012 | 507,000 hectares | +3.7% |
| 2013 | 498,200 hectares | -1.7% |
| 2014 | 492,000 hectares | -1.2% |
| 2015 | 476,000 hectares | -3.3% |
| 2016 | 478,400 hectares | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 468,000 hectares | -2.2% |
| 2018 | 480,000 hectares | +2.6% |
| 2019 | 475,464 hectares | -0.9% |
| 2020 | 476,119 hectares | +0.1% |
| 2021 | 476,280 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 471,630 hectares | -1.0% |
| 2023 | 466,940 hectares | -1.0% |
Belgium compared with similar countries
- Belgium's 466,940 hectares is above the median for high income countries, which is 378,820 hectares, 1.2× the median. (71 countries reporting)
- Belgium's 466,940 hectares is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 968,416 hectares, 48% of the median. (53 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 517,500 hectares | 500,000 hectares | 536,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 486,406 hectares | 468,000 hectares | 507,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 472,742 hectares | 466,940 hectares | 476,280 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Belgium
More reference data data for Belgium
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.9298 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.291 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.09 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1382 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 2.09 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.12 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.61 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 10.4 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.7526 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is area of permanent meadows and pastures in Belgium?
- Area of permanent meadows and pastures in Belgium was 466,940 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 area of permanent meadows and pastures recorded in Belgium?
- The highest recorded value was 536,000 hectares in 2002.
- What is the lowest area of permanent meadows and pastures recorded in Belgium?
- The lowest recorded value was 466,940 hectares in 2023.
- How does Belgium rank for area of permanent meadows and pastures?
- Belgium ranks 129th out of 209 countries with data for 2023.
- Is area of permanent meadows and pastures rising or falling in Belgium?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Belgium 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 Area of permanent meadows and pastures. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
This is the land used for livestock grazing. The total land use for livestock farming is higher as it additionally requires cropland used to grow animal feed.