To main content

Land Use in Sweden 2020

Men owned 71 percent of the land owned by private persons in 2020

Statistical news from Statistics Sweden 2023-11-30 8.00

Land use in Sweden is a publication that uses statistics from Statistics Sweden and a number of other government agencies to give a broad overview of land use, planning and change over time. According to the report, men dominate land owning among private persons.

Roughly 44 percent of Sweden’s land area is owned by private persons. Men own 71 percent of the land owned by private persons.

Sweden predominantly covered by forest land

The greater part of Sweden’s area, 68 percent, consists of forest land. Agricultural land accounts for seven percent. By far the largest share of agricultural land is arable land, while around 15 percent consists of pastures.

Breakdown of land use in 2020

Source: Swedish National Forest Inventory (SLU), Swedish Board of Agriculture, and Statistics Sweden

Gradual change

Change in land use is often gradual. For example, the total forest land area has been stable for a long period. Forest land as a share of land area was largely unchanged from 2010 to 2020, with only a small change, from 69 percent in 2010 and 2015 to 68 percent in 2020. Built-up and developed land increased by 62 000 hectares in total between 2010 and 2020, but still remains around 3 percent as a share of the total land area.

Large increase in numbers of wind turbines

The report Land use in Sweden in 2020 (Markanvändningen i Sverige 2020) is based on statistics on land use and land ownership published by Statistics Sweden on 20 September 2022. The report also contains a theme-based chapter on wind power. There were about 530 wind turbines in Sweden around year 2000. By 2020, the number had increased to almost 4 400, and in 2022, reached more than 5 200 wind turbines. When applying a sphere of influence of 800 meters around each wind turbine, around 378 000 hectares, or almost 1 percent of Sweden’s land area, was affected by wind turbines in 2020.

Publication

Next publishing will be

Nothing planned.

Statistical Database

More information is available in the Statistical Database

Feel free to use the facts from this statistical news but remember to state Source: Statistics Sweden.

Statistical agency and producer

Statistics Sweden, Urban Management and Tourism

Address
Solna strandväg 86
171 54 Solna
E-mail
mark.vatten.gis@scb.se

Enquiries

Linus Rispling

Telephone
+46 10 479 45 69
E-mail
linus.rispling@scb.se

Jerker Moström

Telephone
+46 10 479 40 31
E-mail
jerker.mostrom@scb.se