Area of permanent meadows and pastures in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Area of permanent meadows and pastures was 1.15 million hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
1.15 million hectares
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
104th
of 209 countries
All-time high
2.23 million hectares
in 1984
All-time low
915,000 hectares
in 1961
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Area of permanent meadows and pastures in Costa Rica, 1961–2023
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 Costa Rica stood at 1.15 million hectares.
The figure is down 8.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, area of permanent meadows and pastures in Costa Rica peaked at 2.23 million hectares in 1984 and was at its lowest, 915,000 hectares, in 1961.
Costa Rica ranks 104th 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.
Area of permanent meadows and pastures in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 915,000 hectares | — |
| 1962 | 925,000 hectares | +1.1% |
| 1963 | 935,000 hectares | +1.1% |
| 1964 | 1.00 million hectares | +7.0% |
| 1965 | 1.07 million hectares | +7.0% |
| 1966 | 1.15 million hectares | +7.5% |
| 1967 | 1.15 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 1.23 million hectares | +7.0% |
| 1969 | 1.30 million hectares | +5.7% |
| 1970 | 1.36 million hectares | +4.8% |
| 1971 | 1.39 million hectares | +2.0% |
| 1972 | 1.39 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 1.56 million hectares | +12.1% |
| 1974 | 1.56 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 1.63 million hectares | +4.6% |
| 1976 | 1.71 million hectares | +4.9% |
| 1977 | 1.79 million hectares | +4.7% |
| 1978 | 1.86 million hectares | +3.9% |
| 1979 | 1.94 million hectares | +4.3% |
| 1980 | 2.01 million hectares | +3.6% |
| 1981 | 2.09 million hectares | +4.0% |
| 1982 | 2.17 million hectares | +3.7% |
| 1983 | 2.17 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 2.23 million hectares | +2.9% |
| 1985 | 2.16 million hectares | -3.2% |
| 1986 | 2.09 million hectares | -3.3% |
| 1987 | 2.01 million hectares | -3.5% |
| 1988 | 1.94 million hectares | -3.6% |
| 1989 | 1.87 million hectares | -3.7% |
| 1990 | 1.69 million hectares | -9.6% |
| 1991 | 1.69 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 1.65 million hectares | -2.3% |
| 1993 | 1.61 million hectares | -2.2% |
| 1994 | 1.57 million hectares | -2.4% |
| 1995 | 1.54 million hectares | -2.3% |
| 1996 | 1.50 million hectares | -2.5% |
| 1997 | 1.46 million hectares | -2.5% |
| 1998 | 1.43 million hectares | -2.6% |
| 1999 | 1.39 million hectares | -2.6% |
| 2000 | 1.35 million hectares | -2.7% |
| 2001 | 1.34 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2002 | 1.34 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2003 | 1.33 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 1.32 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2005 | 1.31 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2006 | 1.31 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 2007 | 1.30 million hectares | -0.8% |
| 2008 | 1.29 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2009 | 1.29 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2010 | 1.28 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2011 | 1.27 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2012 | 1.26 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 2013 | 1.25 million hectares | -1.2% |
| 2014 | 1.23 million hectares | -1.3% |
| 2015 | 1.22 million hectares | -1.2% |
| 2016 | 1.21 million hectares | -0.8% |
| 2017 | 1.20 million hectares | -0.8% |
| 2018 | 1.19 million hectares | -0.8% |
| 2019 | 1.18 million hectares | -0.9% |
| 2020 | 1.17 million hectares | -0.9% |
| 2021 | 1.16 million hectares | -0.9% |
| 2022 | 1.15 million hectares | -0.9% |
| 2023 | 1.15 million hectares | +0.0% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 1.15 million hectares is above the median for high income countries, which is 378,820 hectares, 3.0× the median. (71 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 1.15 million hectares is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 594,000 hectares, 1.9× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.07 million hectares | 915,000 hectares | 1.30 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.62 million hectares | 1.36 million hectares | 1.94 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.07 million hectares | 1.87 million hectares | 2.23 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.55 million hectares | 1.39 million hectares | 1.69 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.32 million hectares | 1.29 million hectares | 1.35 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.23 million hectares | 1.18 million hectares | 1.28 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.16 million hectares | 1.15 million hectares | 1.17 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
- 101 Austria 1.21 million hectares compare
- 102 Armenia 1.17 million hectares compare
- 103 Dominican Republic 1.15 million hectares compare
- 105 Falkland Islands 1.13 million hectares compare
- 106 Switzerland 1.07 million hectares compare
- 107 Eswatini 1.00 million hectares compare
- 107 Togo 1.00 million hectares compare
More reference data data for Costa Rica
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.2987 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.406 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.27 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0167 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.27 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.3161 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 2.24 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 5.91 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0907 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is area of permanent meadows and pastures in Costa Rica?
- Area of permanent meadows and pastures in Costa Rica was 1.15 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 Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 2.23 million hectares in 1984.
- What is the lowest area of permanent meadows and pastures recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 915,000 hectares in 1961.
- How does Costa Rica rank for area of permanent meadows and pastures?
- Costa Rica ranks 104th out of 209 countries with data for 2023.
- Is area of permanent meadows and pastures rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Costa Rica 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
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.