Between 2018 and 2024 Settlements & Other Artificial Areas increased by 10.1% and occupied 4.7% (331,600 hectares) of Ireland’s land area, up from 4.3% (301,300 hectares). The increase was mainly due to an expansion of 25,900 hectares in Discontinuous Settlement Area (e.g. residential, commercial and industrial areas outside of built-up urban areas).
Grassland & Cropland ecosystems fell by 0.8% (36,600 hectares) between 2018 and 2024 largely due to conversions into Settlements & Other Artificial Areas.
The extent increase (7,400 hectares, +5.1%) of Broadleaved Deciduous Forest was greater than that of Plantations (i.e. commercial conifer forests), which grew by 5,600 hectares (+0.9%) from 2018 to 2024.
The increase in Broadleaved Deciduous Forest was mainly due to conversions from Sown Pastures & Other Grass, which included 11,200 hectares between 2018 and 2021, and 5,800 hectares between 2021 and 2024.
By contrast, Plantations increased mainly due to replanting on land already in use for forestry, with 11,400 hectares of Transitional Forest & Woodland Shrub (e.g. temporarily unstocked forest sites) converting to Plantations between 2018 and 2021, and 8,200 hectares between 2021 and 2024.
The extent of Inland Wetlands (e.g. peat bogs, fens, and swamps) fell slightly by 0.1% (400 hectares) between 2018 and 2024.
The ecosystem extent accounts for 2018 to 2021 published previously by the CSO have been updated in this release. The revised accounts for these years in this release are based on a revision to the EU ecosystem typology, several methodological updates and new data sources. For more information please see the Background Notes associated with this release.
Eurostat have now finalised the EU ecosystem typology, which included revisions to the definitions of coastal and marine ecosystems. In the accounts published here, this mainly affects Marine Inlets & Transitional Waters, which now includes the ecosystems ‘Macrophyte Communities & Biogenic Reefs’ and ‘Anthropogenic Structures & Modified Ecosystems’.
Methodology updates relate to the compilation of the ecosystem extent maps on which the accounts are based. A detailed description of this methodology can be found in the Methodology section of this release. These updates include:
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (07 October 2026) published Ecosystem Extent Accounts 2024. This release presents the areas of Ireland's ecosystems and tracks their change between 2018 and 2024. In addition, the release includes the accounts disaggregated to county and local authority level.
Ireland's ecosystem assets, as mapped for 2018, 2021 and 2024 are also made available for download from the ArcGIS Experience Builder.
Commenting on the release, Sam Belton, Statistician in the Ecosystem Accounts Division, said:
“These accounts give the total extent of Ireland’s ecosystems between 2018 and 2024, including conversions between ecosystems during this period. The accounts are derived from ecosystem extent maps, which were compiled by the CSO and have been made available to download as part of this release. More details on the compilation of these maps are available in our Methodology section.
Between 2018 and 2024, the extent of Settlements & Other Artificial Areas increased by 30,300 hectares (+10.1%) to 331,600 hectares which was 4.7% of Ireland’s land area. This was mainly due to an expansion of 25,900 hectares (+26.3%) in Discontinuous Settlement Area (i.e. residential and commercial areas outside of built-up urban areas). Continuous Settlement Areas also increased by 2,700 hectares (+3.9%). This was almost completely due to conversions from Urban Greenspace (2,000 hectares between 2018 and 2021, and 1,600 hectares between 2021 and 2024).
The expansion in Discontinuous Settlement Area was mainly due to conversions from Sown Pastures & Other Grass (i.e. agricultural grassland), which declined by 30,200 hectares (-0.8%) to 3,801,700 hectares or 54.2% of Ireland’s land area between 2018 and 2024. Annual Cropland (e.g. wheat, barley, and areas of temporary grassland) also declined during this period, falling by 6,700 hectares (-1.4%) to 468,500 hectares or 6.7% of Ireland’s land area.
Broadleaved Deciduous Forest ecosystems grew by 7,400 hectares (+5.1%), which was greater than the 5,600-hectare increase (+0.9%) in Plantations (i.e. commercial conifer forestry) during the same period. The Broadleaved Deciduous Forest expansion was mainly due to conversions from Sown Pastures & Other Grass, which corresponds to both afforestation and natural woodland regeneration. By contrast, Plantations expanded mainly due to conversions from Transitional Forest & Woodland Shrub, which largely corresponds to replanting on sites where commercial forestry was felled previously”.