Share of land defined as natural habitat in Italy

Italy: Share of land defined as natural habitat was 60.51 in 2010. ▼ Falling

Latest (2010)
60.51
World rank
80th
of 168 countries
All-time high
60.51
in 2010
All-time low
33.3
in 1960
Years of data
24
1780–2010

Share of land defined as natural habitat in Italy, 1780–2010

02040601780189520101780: 561790: 55.31800: 54.61810: 53.91820: 531830: 51.51840: 501850: 48.31860: 47.21870: 47.11880: 45.91890: 44.51900: 43.21910: 41.71920: 39.11930: 38.31940: 371950: 35.41960: 33.31970: 34.71980: 43.51990: 51.72000: 57.92010: 60.5

Source: Taylor and Rising, and United Nations (2021) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

In 2010, share of land defined as natural habitat in Italy stood at 60.51. That is the highest value across all 24 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of land defined as natural habitat in Italy peaked at 60.51 in 2010 and was at its lowest, 33.3, in 1960.

Italy ranks 80th of 168 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.

Share of land defined as natural habitat in Italy, year by year

Annual values for Share of land defined as natural habitat in Italy, 1780 to 2010.
Year Value Change
1780 56.04
1790 55.33 -1.3%
1800 54.6 -1.3%
1810 53.85 -1.4%
1820 53.05 -1.5%
1830 51.53 -2.9%
1840 49.98 -3.0%
1850 48.34 -3.3%
1860 47.15 -2.5%
1870 47.08 -0.1%
1880 45.93 -2.4%
1890 44.47 -3.2%
1900 43.18 -2.9%
1910 41.67 -3.5%
1920 39.11 -6.2%
1930 38.33 -2.0%
1940 37.03 -3.4%
1950 35.44 -4.3%
1960 33.3 -6.0%
1970 34.66 +4.1%
1980 43.54 +25.6%
1990 51.67 +18.7%
2000 57.91 +12.1%
2010 60.51 +4.5%

Italy compared with similar countries

  • Italy's 60.51 is below the median for high income countries, which is 61.44, 98% of the median. (49 countries reporting)
  • Italy's 60.51 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 57.34, 1.1× the median. (44 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Share of land defined as natural habitat in Italy 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.

YearChange FromTo
1980 +25.6% 34.66 43.54

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1780s 56.04 56.04 56.04 1
1790s 55.33 55.33 55.33 1
1800s 54.6 54.6 54.6 1
1810s 53.85 53.85 53.85 1
1820s 53.05 53.05 53.05 1
1830s 51.53 51.53 51.53 1
1840s 49.98 49.98 49.98 1
1850s 48.34 48.34 48.34 1
1860s 47.15 47.15 47.15 1
1870s 47.08 47.08 47.08 1
1880s 45.93 45.93 45.93 1
1890s 44.47 44.47 44.47 1
1900s 43.18 43.18 43.18 1
1910s 41.67 41.67 41.67 1
1920s 39.11 39.11 39.11 1
1930s 38.33 38.33 38.33 1
1940s 37.03 37.03 37.03 1
1950s 35.44 35.44 35.44 1
1960s 33.3 33.3 33.3 1
1970s 34.66 34.66 34.66 1
1980s 43.54 43.54 43.54 1
1990s 51.67 51.67 51.67 1
2000s 57.91 57.91 57.91 1
2010s 60.51 60.51 60.51 1

Countries ranked near Italy

  1. 77 East Timor 60.8 compare
  2. 78 Burkina Faso 60.78 compare
  3. 79 Trinidad and Tobago 60.66 compare
  4. 81 Guinea 60.48 compare
  5. 82 Greece 59.63 compare
  6. 83 Angola 58.65 compare

See the full ranking of 168 places →

More reference data data for Italy

All data for Italy →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of land defined as natural habitat in Italy?
Share of land defined as natural habitat in Italy was 60.51 in 2010, according to Taylor and Rising, and United Nations (2021) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of land defined as natural habitat recorded in Italy?
The highest recorded value was 60.51 in 2010.
What is the lowest share of land defined as natural habitat recorded in Italy?
The lowest recorded value was 33.3 in 1960.
How does Italy rank for share of land defined as natural habitat?
Italy ranks 80th out of 168 countries with data for 2010.
Is share of land defined as natural habitat rising or falling in Italy?
Over the last ten years it is up 4.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Italy data come from?
The figures come from Taylor and Rising, and United Nations (2021) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of land defined as natural habitat. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Share of land defined as natural habitat in Italy. Statizoid, drawing on Taylor and Rising, and United Nations (2021) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 24 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/land-natural-share/italy/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/land-natural-share/italy/">Share of land defined as natural habitat in Italy</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Share of land defined as natural habitat
Source
Taylor and Rising, and United Nations (2021) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
168 places, 4,032 data points, 1780–2010
Last refreshed

Natural ecosystems include forest, grassland, savanna, and shrublands, and other classes such as peatlands and marshes. It is total land minus land that is used by humans for agriculture – either croplands or pasture – or for infrastructure and urban environments.