Area of permanent meadows and pastures in Sweden
Sweden: Area of permanent meadows and pastures was 453,000 hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Area of permanent meadows and pastures in Sweden, 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 Sweden stood at 453,000 hectares.
That represents a change of down 2.4% on the previous year and up 2.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, area of permanent meadows and pastures in Sweden peaked at 732,000 hectares in 1976 and was at its lowest, 371,900 hectares, in 2000.
Sweden ranks 130th 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 Sweden, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 684,000 hectares | — |
| 1962 | 684,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 684,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 684,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 684,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 684,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 685,000 hectares | +0.1% |
| 1968 | 690,000 hectares | +0.7% |
| 1969 | 690,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 700,000 hectares | +1.4% |
| 1971 | 707,000 hectares | +1.0% |
| 1972 | 703,000 hectares | -0.6% |
| 1973 | 700,000 hectares | -0.4% |
| 1974 | 716,000 hectares | +2.3% |
| 1975 | 720,000 hectares | +0.6% |
| 1976 | 732,000 hectares | +1.7% |
| 1977 | 728,000 hectares | -0.5% |
| 1978 | 728,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 726,000 hectares | -0.3% |
| 1980 | 725,000 hectares | -0.1% |
| 1981 | 715,000 hectares | -1.4% |
| 1982 | 710,000 hectares | -0.7% |
| 1983 | 695,000 hectares | -2.1% |
| 1984 | 678,000 hectares | -2.4% |
| 1985 | 572,000 hectares | -15.6% |
| 1986 | 568,000 hectares | -0.7% |
| 1987 | 565,000 hectares | -0.5% |
| 1988 | 565,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 565,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 568,000 hectares | +0.5% |
| 1991 | 568,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 576,000 hectares | +1.4% |
| 1993 | 576,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 576,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 500,000 hectares | -13.2% |
| 1996 | 485,000 hectares | -3.0% |
| 1997 | 460,000 hectares | -5.2% |
| 1998 | 447,000 hectares | -2.8% |
| 1999 | 447,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 371,900 hectares | -16.8% |
| 2001 | 371,900 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 482,300 hectares | +29.7% |
| 2003 | 484,000 hectares | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 504,400 hectares | +4.2% |
| 2005 | 511,000 hectares | +1.3% |
| 2006 | 501,200 hectares | -1.9% |
| 2007 | 486,200 hectares | -3.0% |
| 2008 | 457,700 hectares | -5.9% |
| 2009 | 436,300 hectares | -4.7% |
| 2010 | 451,900 hectares | +3.6% |
| 2011 | 441,300 hectares | -2.3% |
| 2012 | 434,800 hectares | -1.5% |
| 2013 | 442,900 hectares | +1.9% |
| 2014 | 435,680 hectares | -1.6% |
| 2015 | 449,840 hectares | +3.3% |
| 2016 | 451,940 hectares | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 452,940 hectares | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 455,140 hectares | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 461,000 hectares | +1.3% |
| 2020 | 464,000 hectares | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 464,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 464,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 453,000 hectares | -2.4% |
Sweden compared with similar countries
- Sweden's 453,000 hectares is above the median for high income countries, which is 378,820 hectares, 1.2× the median. (71 countries reporting)
- Sweden's 453,000 hectares is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 968,416 hectares, 47% of the median. (53 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Area of permanent meadows and pastures in Sweden 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | +29.7% | 371,900 hectares | 482,300 hectares |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 685,444 hectares | 684,000 hectares | 690,000 hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 716,000 hectares | 700,000 hectares | 732,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 635,800 hectares | 565,000 hectares | 725,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 520,300 hectares | 447,000 hectares | 576,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 460,690 hectares | 371,900 hectares | 511,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 447,744 hectares | 434,800 hectares | 461,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 461,250 hectares | 453,000 hectares | 464,000 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sweden
More reference data data for Sweden
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.4328 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.2237 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.68 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2063 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.68 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.45 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.9766 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.13 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 8.03 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.12 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is area of permanent meadows and pastures in Sweden?
- Area of permanent meadows and pastures in Sweden was 453,000 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 Sweden?
- The highest recorded value was 732,000 hectares in 1976.
- What is the lowest area of permanent meadows and pastures recorded in Sweden?
- The lowest recorded value was 371,900 hectares in 2000.
- How does Sweden rank for area of permanent meadows and pastures?
- Sweden ranks 130th out of 209 countries with data for 2023.
- Is area of permanent meadows and pastures rising or falling in Sweden?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sweden 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
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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.