Area of permanent meadows and pastures in Norway
Norway: Area of permanent meadows and pastures was 176,000 hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
176,000 hectares
Change on year
down 0.6%
World rank
151st
of 209 countries
All-time high
180,605 hectares
in 2017
All-time low
94,000 hectares
in 1978
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Area of permanent meadows and pastures in Norway, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Norway recorded 176,000 hectares for area of permanent meadows and pastures in 2023.
That represents a change of down 0.6% on the previous year and down 0.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, area of permanent meadows and pastures in Norway peaked at 180,605 hectares in 2017 and was at its lowest, 94,000 hectares, in 1978.
Norway ranks 151st of 209 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Area of permanent meadows and pastures in Norway, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 177,000 hectares | — |
| 1962 | 176,000 hectares | -0.6% |
| 1963 | 175,000 hectares | -0.6% |
| 1964 | 168,000 hectares | -4.0% |
| 1965 | 162,000 hectares | -3.6% |
| 1966 | 158,000 hectares | -2.5% |
| 1967 | 155,000 hectares | -1.9% |
| 1968 | 151,000 hectares | -2.6% |
| 1969 | 159,000 hectares | +5.3% |
| 1970 | 140,000 hectares | -11.9% |
| 1971 | 125,000 hectares | -10.7% |
| 1972 | 115,000 hectares | -8.0% |
| 1973 | 114,000 hectares | -0.9% |
| 1974 | 108,000 hectares | -5.3% |
| 1975 | 106,000 hectares | -1.9% |
| 1976 | 101,000 hectares | -4.7% |
| 1977 | 99,000 hectares | -2.0% |
| 1978 | 94,000 hectares | -5.1% |
| 1979 | 124,000 hectares | +31.9% |
| 1980 | 119,000 hectares | -4.0% |
| 1981 | 108,000 hectares | -9.2% |
| 1982 | 101,000 hectares | -6.5% |
| 1983 | 96,000 hectares | -5.0% |
| 1984 | 99,000 hectares | +3.1% |
| 1985 | 99,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 100,000 hectares | +1.0% |
| 1987 | 101,000 hectares | +1.0% |
| 1988 | 102,000 hectares | +1.0% |
| 1989 | 109,000 hectares | +6.9% |
| 1990 | 112,000 hectares | +2.8% |
| 1991 | 118,000 hectares | +5.4% |
| 1992 | 120,000 hectares | +1.7% |
| 1993 | 123,000 hectares | +2.5% |
| 1994 | 129,000 hectares | +4.9% |
| 1995 | 135,000 hectares | +4.7% |
| 1996 | 132,000 hectares | -2.2% |
| 1997 | 136,000 hectares | +3.0% |
| 1998 | 144,000 hectares | +5.9% |
| 1999 | 151,000 hectares | +4.9% |
| 2000 | 158,000 hectares | +4.6% |
| 2001 | 161,000 hectares | +1.9% |
| 2002 | 163,000 hectares | +1.2% |
| 2003 | 164,000 hectares | +0.6% |
| 2004 | 166,000 hectares | +1.2% |
| 2005 | 169,000 hectares | +1.8% |
| 2006 | 172,000 hectares | +1.8% |
| 2007 | 174,600 hectares | +1.5% |
| 2008 | 175,100 hectares | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 174,800 hectares | -0.2% |
| 2010 | 175,800 hectares | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 176,600 hectares | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 176,500 hectares | -0.1% |
| 2013 | 176,389 hectares | -0.1% |
| 2014 | 175,630 hectares | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 175,873 hectares | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 175,503 hectares | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 180,605 hectares | +2.9% |
| 2018 | 179,998 hectares | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 179,108 hectares | -0.5% |
| 2020 | 178,299 hectares | -0.5% |
| 2021 | 177,000 hectares | -0.7% |
| 2022 | 177,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 176,000 hectares | -0.6% |
Norway compared with similar countries
- Norway's 176,000 hectares is below the median for high income countries, which is 378,820 hectares, 46% of the median. (71 countries reporting)
- Norway's 176,000 hectares is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 968,416 hectares, 18% of the median. (53 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Area of permanent meadows and pastures in Norway changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | +31.9% | 94,000 hectares | 124,000 hectares |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 164,556 hectares | 151,000 hectares | 177,000 hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 112,600 hectares | 94,000 hectares | 140,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 103,400 hectares | 96,000 hectares | 119,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 130,000 hectares | 112,000 hectares | 151,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 167,750 hectares | 158,000 hectares | 175,100 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 177,201 hectares | 175,503 hectares | 180,605 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 177,075 hectares | 176,000 hectares | 178,299 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Norway
- 148 Guinea-Bissau 195,000 hectares compare
- 149 Papua New Guinea 190,000 hectares compare
- 150 Gambia 187,000 hectares compare
- 152 New Caledonia 174,330 hectares compare
- 153 Fiji 173,000 hectares compare
- 154 Israel 164,000 hectares compare
More reference data data for Norway
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.3703 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.3621 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0618 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.24 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.7734 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.48 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 6.9 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.3366 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is area of permanent meadows and pastures in Norway?
- Area of permanent meadows and pastures in Norway was 176,000 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 Norway?
- The highest recorded value was 180,605 hectares in 2017.
- What is the lowest area of permanent meadows and pastures recorded in Norway?
- The lowest recorded value was 94,000 hectares in 1978.
- How does Norway rank for area of permanent meadows and pastures?
- Norway ranks 151st out of 209 countries with data for 2023.
- Is area of permanent meadows and pastures rising or falling in Norway?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Norway 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.