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Environmental Indicators Ireland 2023

Land Use

The number of new dwelling completions increased by 45% in 2022

Online ISSN: 2009-9533

CSO statistical release, 14 December 2023, 11am

COVID-19 Release Information

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 may have had an impact on the trend in some of the indicators (such as emissions to air, transport and energy) in this publication.

6.1 Ireland: Land use categories 1990-2021

Grassland accounted for 59% of total land use in Ireland in 2021, down from 62% in 1990. The area under forest increased from 7% in 1990 to 11% in 2021, while wetlands declined from 19% in 1990 to 17% in 2021.

Table 6.1 Ireland: Land use categories 1990-2021

6.2 EU: Forest cover 2020

Forestry accounted for 11.4% of Ireland’s total land area in 2020, the third lowest among EU Member States after Malta and the Netherlands. Finland had the highest proportion of land area under forest at 66.2% in 2020. The EU27 average was 38.7%.

Country	Total land area
Finland	66.2182966865734
Sweden	62.5357602631955
Slovenia	58.4585409164899
Estonia	53.7850714663843
Latvia	52.8100517139937
Austria	46.3721118767734
Slovakia	39.7978994595697
EU27	38.6650406886415
Portugal	37.4926770142419
Spain	37.2559588527228
Bulgaria	35.1003639770802
Croatia	34.2792522175496
Luxembourg	34.1811175337187
Czechia	33.9426405142575
Lithuania	33.7324612462472
Germany	32.0723832323272
France	31.7304666156704
Italy	31.6682722388297
Poland	30.340976122695
Greece	29.6277734748736
Romania	29.2855644762121
Belgium	22.4776625578817
Hungary	22.0725282759214
Cyprus	18.6469253215173
Denmark	14.6404193360513
Ireland	11.4249360229888
Netherlands	9.88549414093852
Malta	1.45569620253165

6.3 Ireland: Organic agricultural land 1997-2022

The area of agricultural land farmed organically in Ireland increased by 480% between 1997 and 2022, when it accounted for 108,470 hectares or 2.3% of the total agricultural land.

Table 6.2 Ireland: Organic agricultural land 1997-2022

6.4 EU: Organic agricultural land 2021

Land used for organic farming in Ireland accounted for 1.8% of total agricultural land in 2021 – the second lowest percentage among the 27 EU Member States. Austria, with 24.9%, had the highest proportion of agricultural land farmed organically in the EU27 in 2021, and Malta the lowest at 0.6%.

Country	Total agricultural land
Austria	24.9365394276997
Estonia	23.6660713726227
Portugal	21.1116572705878
Sweden	20.031202329774
Italy	18.0690873294988
Finland	16.1841842994645
Latvia	16.0927614340796
Czechia	15.7180786316365
Slovakia	13.1321879880733
Denmark	11.5713500347416
Spain	11.3108030739624
Greece	11.0078900011942
Slovenia	10.6690546772069
France	10.006229399811
Germany	9.58895972234032
Lithuania	9.14921799912626
Belgium	7.83033871091062
Croatia	7.75992871690428
Cyprus	7.07765480654898
Hungary	6.30507331655399
Luxembourg	5.26022588522589
Romania	4.43263364698583
Netherlands	4.13380819129992
Poland	3.81296292055376
Bulgaria	1.85575389061136
Ireland	1.75156519372108
Malta	0.606617647058824

6.5 Ireland: Fertiliser sales 1981-2021

Total fertiliser sales in Ireland fell from 1.8 million tonnes in 1981 to 0.9 million tonnes in 2012. In 2021 it was 1.9 million tonnes.

Lime is the most commonly used fertiliser in the State. Sales in 2021 at 1.3 million tonnes were higher than the 2020 figure of 887,000 tonnes but close to the 1981 figure of 1.3 million tonnes.

The sale of nitrogen fertilisers in Ireland increased by 40% between 1981 and 2021. Potassium fertiliser sales fell from by 23% between 1981 and 2021. Phosphorous fertiliser sales fell by 31% over the same period.

Table 6.3 Ireland: Fertiliser sales 1981-2021

Year	Lime	Nitrogen	Potassium	Phosphorous
1981	1348.504	275.094	149.7735	62.721
1982	1591.859	280.39775	149.33925	61.95925
1983	2212.973	304.84875	155.32225	64.094
1984	1124.08	330.50725	162.1835	66.15925
1985	878.416	326.4685	159.03075	64.04175
1986	825.831	334.97425	149.89125	60.034
1987	824.366	363.592	163.11175	65.02675
1988	885.559	341.80625	157.151	63.00075
1989	940.616	356.5965	160.1465	64.642
1990	806.9	377.0135	156.984	64.09
1991	716.239	367.16625	151.436	61.837
1992	580.911	363.22275	148.7735	59.9315
1993	812.045	385.6915	150.0465	61.08175
1994	612.821	413.81475	146.62575	60.583
1995	1124.08	425.849	150.93825	62.29375
1996	1100.076	407.5555	147.1215	59.89875
1997	962.471	392.60075	130.16475	52.8
1998	694.501	434.72825	124.67	50.06825
1999	870.971	434.0865	124.9705	50.2015
2000	832.689	397.86525	118.74225	47.6245
2001	875.642	367.3785	106.56225	42.49
2002	622.499	369.65475	106.98175	42.35975
2003	879.741	381.69125	111.01325	43.53925
2004	547.263	359.935	108.16125	41.657
2005	606.213	350.41225	98.7525	38.286
2006	579.219	339.2625	90.84425	36.0105
2007	856.288	318.431	80.94875	30.89875
2008	595.926	308.4215	65.28875	24.82025
2009	698.46	314.498	57.45825	22.232
2010	972.577	327.12925	72.32225	28.203
2011	819.724	295.98025	73.8575	27.9355
2012	521.355	310.663	84.08175	29.81225
2013	1172.029	347.7285	93.0455	36.6355
2014	868.905	331.57625	93.9195	35.82575
2015	893.73	332.99525	94.571	36.682
2016	967.276	346.60025	98.842	38.2795
2017	737.116	378.9405	111.58725	43.0165
2018	1028.738	398.21225	118.77225	45.45825
2019	762.865	370.40275	115.22	43.06875
2020	887.32	384.43025	119.2425	44.71125
2021	1333.1	385.17125	115.595	43.111

6.6 EU: Fertiliser sales 2021

Ireland had the seventh highest rate of fertiliser sales among the 27 EU Member States in 2021 at 90 tonnes per 1,000 hectares of agricultural land. Belgium had the highest rate of sales in 2021 at 121 tonnes per 1,000 hectares of agricultural land and Portugal had the lowest at 30 tonnes.

Country	Sales per 1,000 hectares agricultural land
Portugal	29.7567820649771
Austria	38.1665560400309
Romania	47.0693214153043
Greece	47.6144688456138
Spain	51.627881625152
Latvia	52.6995505187142
Estonia	54.0192791720191
Italy	55.5765859512732
Malta	57.5367647058823
Slovenia	66.5472661396575
Finland	70.2364869354146
Sweden	70.263024083576
Slovakia	73.9010627836412
Lithuania	73.9592835299257
Croatia	74.6022148676171
France	77.4228958561874
Bulgaria	80.5699493005715
Germany	80.8036489540456
Poland	82.5595928346335
Denmark	82.9369230416822
Ireland	89.7744709594814
Cyprus	92.2985456873685
Czechia	93.2068727498733
Hungary	107.205166089698
Luxembourg	109.485653235653
Netherlands	117.868335164568
Belgium	120.894563804572

6.7 Ireland: Cattle, sheep and pigs December 1980-2022

Cattle numbers in December in Ireland during 1980 to 2022 fluctuated between 5.6 million in 1987 and 7 million in 1998. The 2022 figure was 6.6 million, which was 1.5% below the 2021 figure.

Sheep numbers have fluctuated more widely. In December 1980 there were 2.3 million sheep in Ireland. This number peaked in 1992 at 6.1 million. In December 2022 there were 4 million sheep in the State, which was slightly lower than the 2021 total.

Pig numbers increased from 1 million in December 1980 to a peak of 1.8 million in 1998. In December 2022 there were 1.6 million pigs in the State, down 8.4% on 2021.

Table 6.4 Ireland: Cattle, sheep and pigs December 1980-2022

Year	Cattle	Sheep	Pigs
1980	5825.5	2343.6	1030.8
1981	5763.2	2449.3	1027
1982	5795.2	2608.5	1081.1
1983	5830.5	2813.2	1053.4
1984	5860.9	3081.8	1019.5
1985	5813	3304	994.1
1986	5670.3	3671.8	980
1987	5632.7	4300.6	960.3
1988	5698.7	4991.2	1014.5
1989	5969.1	5713.9	1110.1
1990	6100.5	5863.7	1249.1
1991	6147.4	5982.6	1345.5
1992	6236.4	6109.2	1422.7
1993	6263.9	5966.5	1487.2
1994	6343.9	5739.7	1498.3
1995	6450.6	5543.4	1542.3
1996	6660.9	5341.9	1664.5
1997	6881.6	5577.2	1717
1998	6951.7	5559.1	1800.9
1999	6557.9	5318.6	1762.9
2000	6330.2	5056	1731.5
2001	6408.1	4807	1777.8
2002	6332.8	4828.5	1796.9
2003	6223.4	4850.1	1731
2004	6211.5	4556.7	1754.3
2005	6390.2	4257	1670.8
2006	6340.2	3826.3	1620
2007	6247.6	3530.5	1500.5
2008	6303.9	3422.9	1510.7
2009	6231.7	3182.6	1501.9
2010	5917.7	3122	1500.4
2011	5925.3	3321.3	1552.9
2012	6253.2	3430.3	1493.5
2013	6309.1	3324.1	1469.1
2014	6243.1	3324.9	1505.7
2015	6422.2	3324.8	1474.5
2016	6613.4	3438.2	1527.8
2017	6673.6	3981.8	1616.4
2018	6593.5	3798.5	1572.2
2019	6559.7	3809.4	1613.3
2020	6529.4	3877.2	1678.6
2021	6649.3	4026.4	1713.6
2022	6551.8	4018	1570.4

6.8 EU: Cattle, sheep and pigs December 2022

In December 2022 Ireland had the third highest number of cattle in the EU27, with 8.8% of the total. France had the highest proportion of cattle numbers, with 22.7% of the EU total.

Ireland had 6.1% of the total sheep population in the EU27 in December 2019, compared with Spain which had the highest proportion of sheep numbers at 24.8% of the total.

Ireland had 1.2% of the total pig population in the EU27 in December 2022. Spain had the highest proportion of pig numbers in the EU with 25.4% of the total.

Table 6.5 EU: Cattle, sheep and pigs December 2022

6.9 Ireland: New dwelling completions 2011-2022

The number of new dwelling completions in Ireland increased from 6,994 units in 2011 to 29,751 units in 2022.

Over half of these units in 2022 were part of housing schemes, 31% were apartments and 18% were single houses. The percentage of total completions accounted for by apartments increased from 9% in 2015 to 31% in 2022.

Table 6.6 Ireland: New dwelling completions 2011-2022

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Table 6.1 Ireland: Land use categories 1990-2021
% of total land area							'000 hectares
Year	Grassland	Wetlands (including peatlands)	Forest	Cropland	Settlement	Other land	Total
1990-1994 average	61.7%	18.8%	7.3%	10.5%	1.5%	0.2%	7,111.8
1995-1999 average	61.1%	18.1%	8.5%	10.5%	1.5%	0.2%	7,111.8
2000-2004 average	60.6%	17.6%	9.5%	10.5%	1.6%	0.3%	7,111.8
2005-2009 average	60.2%	17.3%	10.0%	10.5%	1.7%	0.3%	7,111.8
2010-2014 average	59.8%	17.3%	10.4%	10.5%	1.7%	0.3%	7,111.8

2015	59.6%	17.3%	10.7%	10.5%	1.7%	0.3%	7,111.8
2016	59.5%	17.3%	10.7%	10.5%	1.7%	0.3%	7,111.8
2017	59.4%	17.3%	10.8%	10.5%	1.7%	0.3%	7,111.8
2018	59.4%	17.2%	10.9%	10.5%	1.8%	0.3%	7,111.8
2019	59.3%	17.2%	10.9%	10.5%	1.8%	0.3%	7,111.8
2020	59.3%	17.2%	11.0%	10.5%	1.8%	0.3%	7,111.8
2021	59.2%	17.2%	11.0%	10.5%	1.8%	0.3%	7,111.8
Source: Environmental Protection Agency

Table 6.2 Ireland: Organic agricultural land 1997-2022
'000 ha			%
Year	Organic agricultural land	Agricultural land area	Land area farmed organically
1997-1999 average	23	4,408	0.5%
2000-2004 average	29	4,401	0.7%
2005-2009 average	42	4,171	1.0%
2010-2014 average	53	4,569	1.2%

2015	58	4,596	1.3%
2016	61	4,569	1.3%
2017	69	4,569	1.5%
2018	67	4,643	1.4%
2019	76	4,651	1.6%
2020	73	4,664	1.6%
2021	94	4,678	2.0%
2022	108	4,678	2.3%
Source: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Table 6.3 Ireland: Fertiliser sales 1981-2021¹
	'000 tonnes	%	'000 tonnes	%	'000 tonnes	%	'000 tonnes	%	'000 tonnes
Year	Lime	Average annual change	Nitrogen	Average annual change	Potassium	Average annual change	Phosphorous	Average annual change	Total
1981-1984 average	1,569	-	298	-	154	-	64	-	2,085
1985-1989 average	871	-11.1%	345	3.9%	158	0.6%	63	-0.2%	1,437
1990-1994 average	706	-3.8%	381	2.1%	151	-0.9%	62	-0.6%	1,299
1995-1999 average	950	6.9%	419	2.0%	136	-2.0%	55	-2.1%	1,560
2000-2004 average	752	-4.2%	375	-2.1%	110	-3.7%	44	-4.2%	1,281
2005-2009 average	667	-2.2%	326	-2.6%	79	-5.7%	30	-6.0%	1,103
2010-2014 average	871	6.1%	323	-0.2%	83	1.2%	32	0.8%	1,309

2015	894	2.9%	333	0.4%	95	0.7%	37	2.4%	1,358
2016	967	8.2%	347	4.1%	99	4.5%	38	4.4%	1,451
2017	737	-23.8%	379	9.3%	112	12.9%	43	12.4%	1,271
2018	1,029	39.6%	398	5.1%	119	6.4%	45	5.7%	1,591
2019	763	-25.8%	370	-7.0%	115	-3.0%	43	-5.3%	1,292
2020	887	16.3%	384	3.8%	119	3.5%	45	3.8%	1,436
2021	1,333	50.2%	385	0.2%	116	-3.1%	43	-3.6%	1,877
Source: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
¹Note: The average annual % change in 2015 is based on a comparison with 2014 data and not the average 2010-2014 data
- Not applicable

Table 6.4 Ireland: Cattle, sheep and pigs December 1980-2022¹
	'000	%	'000	%	'000	%
Year	Total Cattle	Average annual change	Total Sheep	Average annual change	Total Pigs	Average annual change
1980-1984 average	5,815	-	2,659	-	1,042	-
1985-1989 average	5,757	-0.2%	4,396	13.1%	1,012	-0.6%
1990-1994 average	6,218	1.6%	5,932	7.0%	1,401	7.7%
1995-1999 average	6,701	1.6%	5,468	-1.6%	1,698	4.2%
2000-2004 average	6,301	-1.2%	4,820	-2.4%	1,758	0.7%
2005-2009 average	6,303	0.0%	3,644	-4.9%	1,561	-2.2%
2010-2014 average	6,130	-0.5%	3,305	-1.9%	1,504	-0.7%

2015	6,422	2.9%	3,325	-0.0%	1,475	-2.1%
2016	6,613	3.0%	3,438	3.4%	1,528	3.6%
2017	6,674	0.9%	3,982	15.8%	1,616	5.8%
2018	6,594	-1.2%	3,799	-4.6%	1,572	-2.7%
2019	6,560	-0.5%	3,809	0.3%	1,613	2.6%
2020	6,529	-0.5%	3,877	1.8%	1,679	4.0%
2021	6,649	1.8%	4,026	3.8%	1,714	2.1%
2022	6,552	-1.5%	4,018	-0.2%	1,570	-8.4%
Source: CSO
¹Note: The average annual % change in 2015 is based on a comparison with 2014 data and not the average 2010-2014 data
- Not applicable

Table 6.5 EU: Cattle, sheep and pigs December 2022¹
% of total
Country	Cattle	Sheep	Pigs
Malta	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Cyprus	0.1%	0.5%	0.2%
Luxembourg	0.2%	0.0%	0.0%
Estonia	0.3%	0.1%	0.2%
Latvia	0.5%	0.2%	0.2%
Croatia	0.6%	1.1%	0.7%
Slovakia	0.6%	0.5%	0.3%
Slovenia	0.6%	0.2%	0.2%
Bulgaria	0.8%	2.1%	0.4%
Greece	0.8%	13.5%	0.6%
Lithuania	0.9%	0.2%	0.4%
Finland	1.1%	0.2%	0.7%
Hungary	1.2%	1.7%	1.9%
Czechia	1.9%	0.3%	1.0%
Sweden	1.9%	0.6%	1.1%
Denmark	2.0%	0.2%	8.6%
Portugal	2.1%	3.6%	1.6%
Romania	2.5%	16.6%	2.5%
Austria	2.5%	0.6%	2.0%
Belgium	3.1%	0.2%	4.3%
Netherlands	5.0%	1.2%	8.0%
Italy	8.1%	11.2%	6.5%
Poland	8.6%	0.4%	7.2%
Spain	8.6%	24.8%	25.4%
Ireland	8.8%	6.1%	1.2%
Germany	14.7%	2.5%	15.9%
France	22.7%	11.4%	9.1%

EU27	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%

Total`('000)	74,808	62,470	134,410
Source: Eurostat
¹ Note:Sheep data refer to 2019

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Environmental Indicators Ireland 2023

Land Use

Land Use

The number of new dwelling completions increased by 45% in 2022

COVID-19 Release Information

6.1 Ireland: Land use categories 1990-2021

6.2 EU: Forest cover 2020

6.3 Ireland: Organic agricultural land 1997-2022

6.4 EU: Organic agricultural land 2021

6.5 Ireland: Fertiliser sales 1981-2021

6.6 EU: Fertiliser sales 2021

6.7 Ireland: Cattle, sheep and pigs December 1980-2022

6.8 EU: Cattle, sheep and pigs December 2022

6.9 Ireland: New dwelling completions 2011-2022

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Table 6.6 Ireland: New dwelling completions 2011-2022¹
% of total completions
Year	Scheme house	Single house	Apartment	Total	Annual % change
2011-2014 average	24%	65%	11%	5,500	-

2015	46%	45%	9%	7,219	30.8%
2016	51%	37%	12%	9,791	35.6%
2017	55%	30%	15%	14,281	45.9%
2018	61%	26%	13%	17,869	25.1%
2019	59%	24%	16%	21,113	18.2%
2020	57%	24%	19%	20,550	-2.7%
2021	52%	23%	25%	20,546	-0.0%
2022	51%	18%	31%	29,751	44.8%
Source:CSO
¹Note: The average annual % change in 2015 is based on a comparison with 2014 data and not the average 2011-2014 data
- Not applicable