Area of permanent meadows and pastures in Canada

Canada: Area of permanent meadows and pastures was 18.56 million hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
18.56 million hectares
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
38th
of 208 countries
All-time high
25.60 million hectares
in 1965
All-time low
18.56 million hectares
in 2021
Years of data
63
1961–2023

Area of permanent meadows and pastures in Canada, 1961–2023

010.0M20.0M30.0M196119922023

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.

Analysis

The most recent figure for area of permanent meadows and pastures in Canada is 18.56 million hectares, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 6.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, area of permanent meadows and pastures in Canada peaked at 25.60 million hectares in 1965 and was at its lowest, 18.56 million hectares, in 2021.

That places Canada 38th out of 208 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 25.24 million hectares 24.78 million hectares 25.60 million hectares 9
1970s 23.71 million hectares 21.93 million hectares 24.58 million hectares 10
1980s 19.95 million hectares 19.22 million hectares 21.28 million hectares 10
1990s 20.03 million hectares 19.93 million hectares 20.11 million hectares 10
2000s 21.02 million hectares 20.15 million hectares 21.88 million hectares 10
2010s 19.62 million hectares 18.87 million hectares 20.42 million hectares 10
2020s 18.60 million hectares 18.56 million hectares 18.72 million hectares 4

Countries ranked near Canada

  1. 35 Morocco 21.00 million hectares compare
  2. 36 Ethiopia 20.00 million hectares compare
  3. 36 Zambia 20.00 million hectares compare
  4. 39 Democratic Republic of Congo 18.20 million hectares compare
  5. 39 Venezuela 18.20 million hectares compare
  6. 41 Peru 18.19 million hectares compare

See the full ranking of 210 places →

More reference data data for Canada

All data for Canada →

Frequently asked questions

What is area of permanent meadows and pastures in Canada?
Area of permanent meadows and pastures in Canada was 18.56 million 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 Canada?
The highest recorded value was 25.60 million hectares in 1965.
What is the lowest area of permanent meadows and pastures recorded in Canada?
The lowest recorded value was 18.56 million hectares in 2021.
How does Canada rank for area of permanent meadows and pastures?
Canada ranks 38th out of 208 countries with data for 2023.
Is area of permanent meadows and pastures rising or falling in Canada?
Over the last ten years it is down 6.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Canada 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 — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Area of permanent meadows and pastures
Unit
hectares
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
210 places, 12,094 data points, 1961–2023
Last refreshed

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.