Area of permanent meadows and pastures in Netherlands
Netherlands: Area of permanent meadows and pastures was 758,000 hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
758,000 hectares
Change on year
down 0.7%
World rank
113th
of 209 countries
All-time high
1.33 million hectares
in 1970
All-time low
744,000 hectares
in 2017
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Area of permanent meadows and pastures in Netherlands, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Netherlands recorded 758,000 hectares for area of permanent meadows and pastures in 2023.
That represents a change of down 0.7% on the previous year and down 2.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, area of permanent meadows and pastures in Netherlands peaked at 1.33 million hectares in 1970 and was at its lowest, 744,000 hectares, in 2017.
That places Netherlands 113th 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 63 years of available data.
Area of permanent meadows and pastures in Netherlands, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1.27 million hectares | — |
| 1962 | 1.29 million hectares | +1.2% |
| 1963 | 1.29 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 1964 | 1.28 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 1965 | 1.28 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1966 | 1.29 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 1967 | 1.31 million hectares | +1.4% |
| 1968 | 1.31 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 1969 | 1.32 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1970 | 1.33 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 1971 | 1.28 million hectares | -3.4% |
| 1972 | 1.27 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 1973 | 1.27 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 1974 | 1.25 million hectares | -0.9% |
| 1975 | 1.24 million hectares | -1.1% |
| 1976 | 1.23 million hectares | -0.9% |
| 1977 | 1.20 million hectares | -2.7% |
| 1978 | 1.19 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 1979 | 1.17 million hectares | -1.4% |
| 1980 | 1.16 million hectares | -1.0% |
| 1981 | 1.15 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 1982 | 1.14 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 1983 | 1.14 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 1984 | 1.14 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1985 | 1.13 million hectares | -1.3% |
| 1986 | 1.11 million hectares | -1.6% |
| 1987 | 1.09 million hectares | -1.6% |
| 1988 | 1.08 million hectares | -0.8% |
| 1989 | 1.07 million hectares | -1.2% |
| 1990 | 1.06 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 1991 | 1.04 million hectares | -1.6% |
| 1992 | 1.03 million hectares | -1.4% |
| 1993 | 1.03 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 1.01 million hectares | -1.7% |
| 1995 | 1.01 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1996 | 989,500 hectares | -2.1% |
| 1997 | 958,100 hectares | -3.2% |
| 1998 | 951,900 hectares | -0.6% |
| 1999 | 926,200 hectares | -2.7% |
| 2000 | 901,900 hectares | -2.6% |
| 2001 | 880,900 hectares | -2.3% |
| 2002 | 891,900 hectares | +1.2% |
| 2003 | 790,600 hectares | -11.4% |
| 2004 | 790,800 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 794,900 hectares | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 817,100 hectares | +2.8% |
| 2007 | 820,700 hectares | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 827,800 hectares | +0.9% |
| 2009 | 827,200 hectares | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 813,300 hectares | -1.7% |
| 2011 | 816,000 hectares | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 794,900 hectares | -2.6% |
| 2013 | 773,100 hectares | -2.7% |
| 2014 | 757,800 hectares | -2.0% |
| 2015 | 766,000 hectares | +1.1% |
| 2016 | 749,000 hectares | -2.2% |
| 2017 | 744,000 hectares | -0.7% |
| 2018 | 764,000 hectares | +2.7% |
| 2019 | 768,000 hectares | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 772,410 hectares | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 771,000 hectares | -0.2% |
| 2022 | 763,000 hectares | -1.0% |
| 2023 | 758,000 hectares | -0.7% |
Netherlands compared with similar countries
- Netherlands's 758,000 hectares is above the median for high income countries, which is 378,820 hectares, 2.0× the median. (71 countries reporting)
- Netherlands's 758,000 hectares is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 968,416 hectares, 78% of the median. (53 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.29 million hectares | 1.27 million hectares | 1.32 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.24 million hectares | 1.17 million hectares | 1.33 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.12 million hectares | 1.07 million hectares | 1.16 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.00 million hectares | 926,200 hectares | 1.06 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 834,380 hectares | 790,600 hectares | 901,900 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 774,610 hectares | 744,000 hectares | 816,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 766,102 hectares | 758,000 hectares | 772,410 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Netherlands
More reference data data for Netherlands
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.74 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.5851 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 3.79 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1102 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 3.79 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 5.83 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 3.59 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 2.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 18.47 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.6002 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is area of permanent meadows and pastures in Netherlands?
- Area of permanent meadows and pastures in Netherlands was 758,000 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 Netherlands?
- The highest recorded value was 1.33 million hectares in 1970.
- What is the lowest area of permanent meadows and pastures recorded in Netherlands?
- The lowest recorded value was 744,000 hectares in 2017.
- How does Netherlands rank for area of permanent meadows and pastures?
- Netherlands ranks 113th out of 209 countries with data for 2023.
- Is area of permanent meadows and pastures rising or falling in Netherlands?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Netherlands 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.