Area of permanent meadows and pastures in India
India: Area of permanent meadows and pastures was 10.25 million hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
10.25 million hectares
Change on year
down 0.7%
World rank
53rd
of 209 countries
All-time high
14.81 million hectares
in 1966
All-time low
10.25 million hectares
in 2023
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Area of permanent meadows and pastures in India, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
India recorded 10.25 million hectares for area of permanent meadows and pastures in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.7% on the previous year and down 0.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, area of permanent meadows and pastures in India peaked at 14.81 million hectares in 1966 and was at its lowest, 10.25 million hectares, in 2023.
India ranks 53rd of 209 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Area of permanent meadows and pastures in India, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 13.97 million hectares | — |
| 1962 | 14.08 million hectares | +0.8% |
| 1963 | 14.10 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1964 | 14.59 million hectares | +3.5% |
| 1965 | 14.74 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 1966 | 14.81 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1967 | 14.02 million hectares | -5.4% |
| 1968 | 13.79 million hectares | -1.6% |
| 1969 | 13.32 million hectares | -3.5% |
| 1970 | 12.99 million hectares | -2.4% |
| 1971 | 13.26 million hectares | +2.1% |
| 1972 | 12.96 million hectares | -2.3% |
| 1973 | 12.71 million hectares | -2.0% |
| 1974 | 12.78 million hectares | +0.6% |
| 1975 | 12.86 million hectares | +0.6% |
| 1976 | 12.59 million hectares | -2.1% |
| 1977 | 12.53 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 1978 | 12.35 million hectares | -1.4% |
| 1979 | 12.14 million hectares | -1.8% |
| 1980 | 12.12 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1981 | 11.99 million hectares | -1.1% |
| 1982 | 12.03 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1983 | 11.93 million hectares | -0.8% |
| 1984 | 12.03 million hectares | +0.9% |
| 1985 | 12.00 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1986 | 11.78 million hectares | -1.8% |
| 1987 | 11.84 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1988 | 11.72 million hectares | -1.0% |
| 1989 | 11.53 million hectares | -1.7% |
| 1990 | 11.30 million hectares | -1.9% |
| 1991 | 11.40 million hectares | +0.9% |
| 1992 | 11.30 million hectares | -0.9% |
| 1993 | 11.10 million hectares | -1.8% |
| 1994 | 10.97 million hectares | -1.2% |
| 1995 | 11.03 million hectares | +0.6% |
| 1996 | 11.06 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1997 | 10.88 million hectares | -1.7% |
| 1998 | 10.85 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 1999 | 10.90 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 2000 | 10.85 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2001 | 10.66 million hectares | -1.7% |
| 2002 | 10.53 million hectares | -1.3% |
| 2003 | 10.45 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2004 | 10.48 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 10.45 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2006 | 10.44 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 10.42 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 2008 | 10.36 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2009 | 10.34 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 2010 | 10.34 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2011 | 10.30 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 2012 | 10.30 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2013 | 10.26 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 2014 | 10.27 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 10.26 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2016 | 10.26 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2017 | 10.34 million hectares | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 10.34 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2019 | 10.38 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 10.48 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 2021 | 10.40 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2022 | 10.33 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2023 | 10.25 million hectares | -0.7% |
India compared with similar countries
- India's 10.25 million hectares is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 2.83 million hectares, 3.6× the median. (45 countries reporting)
- India's 10.25 million hectares is above the median for South Asia, which is 520,000 hectares, 19.7× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 14.16 million hectares | 13.32 million hectares | 14.81 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 12.72 million hectares | 12.14 million hectares | 13.26 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 11.90 million hectares | 11.53 million hectares | 12.12 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 11.08 million hectares | 10.85 million hectares | 11.40 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 10.50 million hectares | 10.34 million hectares | 10.85 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 10.30 million hectares | 10.26 million hectares | 10.38 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.36 million hectares | 10.25 million hectares | 10.48 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near India
More reference data data for India
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 20.88 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 68.88 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 246.78 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 15.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 246.78 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 70.02 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 19.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 309.05 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1,063 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 85.03 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is area of permanent meadows and pastures in India?
- Area of permanent meadows and pastures in India was 10.25 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 India?
- The highest recorded value was 14.81 million hectares in 1966.
- What is the lowest area of permanent meadows and pastures recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.25 million hectares in 2023.
- How does India rank for area of permanent meadows and pastures?
- India ranks 53rd out of 209 countries with data for 2023.
- Is area of permanent meadows and pastures rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this India 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.