Sweden predominantly covered by forest

The greater part of Sweden’s area, 69 percent, consists of forest. At the same time, only three percent consists of developed land. Sweden is also rich in mires and wetlands. Open mires, a subset of wetlands in Sweden, account for seven percent, which is more than the total share of agricultural land.

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 unchanged in 2015 from 2010. Built-up land increased by three percent in total, or 31 000 hectares. Land used for golf courses increased by two percent in the same period, while land used for ski pistes increased by 19 percent. Agricultural land decreased by 1.5 percent between 2010 and 2015 and 3 000 hectares of agricultural land was developed for housing and infrastructure.

New detailed land use statistics

Land use in Sweden in 2015 (Markanvändningen i Sverige 2015) is based on statistics on land use and land ownership published by Statistics Sweden on 20 September 2018. It also contains several theme-based chapters that take a comprehensive approach to everything from the development of urban areas to land for wind parks and reindeer pastures. The report also contains many maps and figures.

In connection with the publication of this report, several new detailed items not previously available in the database are also published in the Statistical Database. This includes information on the age of dwellings, taxation value on land, and statistics on areas of national interest, allotment areas, water supplies and mines.

A more detailed report of this survey is published in the report:

Land use in Sweden, seventh edition (pdf)