An infographic about global land use

Farmland uses more than a third of land on Earth. Over human history, the area of farmland has increased dramatically, more than doubling since 1890.

The land-use figures represented in the infographic:
- 27% is farmland used for meat and dairy
- 26% is forests
- 19% is deserts, salt flats and rocks
- 10% is glaciers
- 8% is grasslands and shrubs
- 7% is farmland used for crops
- 1% is lakes and rivers
- 1% is cities, towns and roads.

Huge areas of forest are cleared to raise cattle and grow soybeans to feed them. The amount of land used for growing and feeding livestock covers an area the size of North, Central and South America combined.

Farming is the most significant threat to the world’s forests. Almost 90% of the forests lost between 2000 and 2018 were cut down to make space for growing crops and grazing livestock.

The destruction of natural habitats disrupts delicate ecosystems and drives biodiversity loss. It also reduces Earth’s capacity to absorb carbon dioxide, which in turn contributes to climate change.

Infographic data sources:
Ritchie, H and Roser, M (2019), Land Use. Published online at OurWorldInData.org.
Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (2022). The State of the World’s Forests 2022.