Area of permanent meadows and pastures in Italy

Italy: Area of permanent meadows and pastures was 3.60 million hectares in 2023. β–Ό Falling

Latest (2023)
3.60 million hectares
Change on year
up 2.1%
World rank
72nd
of 208 countries
All-time high
5.25 million hectares
in 1970
All-time low
3.04 million hectares
in 2021
Years of data
63
1961–2023

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

02.0M4.0M6.0M196119922023

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 Italy stood at 3.60 million hectares.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.1% on the previous year and down 20.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, area of permanent meadows and pastures in Italy peaked at 5.25 million hectares in 1970 and was at its lowest, 3.04 million hectares, in 2021.

Italy ranks 72nd of 208 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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 5.13 million hectares 5.08 million hectares 5.23 million hectares 9
1970s 5.20 million hectares 5.16 million hectares 5.25 million hectares 10
1980s 5.00 million hectares 4.86 million hectares 5.13 million hectares 10
1990s 4.44 million hectares 4.20 million hectares 4.87 million hectares 10
2000s 4.38 million hectares 4.28 million hectares 4.46 million hectares 10
2010s 4.03 million hectares 3.25 million hectares 4.70 million hectares 10
2020s 3.33 million hectares 3.04 million hectares 3.60 million hectares 4

Countries ranked near Italy

  1. 69 Iraq 3.98 million hectares compare
  2. 70 Romania 3.90 million hectares compare
  3. 71 Ireland 3.75 million hectares compare
  4. 73 Nicaragua 3.29 million hectares compare
  5. 74 Poland 3.01 million hectares compare
  6. 75 Central African Republic 2.99 million hectares compare

See the full ranking of 210 places β†’

More reference data data for Italy

All data for Italy β†’

Frequently asked questions

What is area of permanent meadows and pastures in Italy?
Area of permanent meadows and pastures in Italy was 3.60 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 Italy?
The highest recorded value was 5.25 million hectares in 1970.
What is the lowest area of permanent meadows and pastures recorded in Italy?
The lowest recorded value was 3.04 million hectares in 2021.
How does Italy rank for area of permanent meadows and pastures?
Italy ranks 72nd out of 208 countries with data for 2023.
Is area of permanent meadows and pastures rising or falling in Italy?
Over the last ten years it is down 20.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Italy 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 Β· JSON β€” 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.