National Land Cover Account

Latest release

Experimental statistics on land cover stock positions and changes in land cover from 1988–2024

Reference period

2024

Released

11/09/2025

Next release Unknown

Release date and time

11/09/2025 11:30am AEST

Key statistics

2020 was the only year Sparsely vegetated areas surpassed Grassland as the dominant land cover type, reaching 310.6 million hectares.
Between 2019–2024, Inland water bodies (Perennial and Non-perennial) increased by 1.0 million hectares (114.4%) and 2.0 million hectares (114.2%), respectively.
Since 1988, Artificial surfaces have increased by 281.9 thousand hectares (105.7%).

About this release

The National Land Cover Account provides an insight into how land cover has changed in Australia during the period of 1988–2024. Land cover refers to the observed physical and biological cover of the Earth’s surface and includes natural vegetation and abiotic (non-living) surfaces.
This account differs from The National Land Account, which focuses on changes within land use, land cover, land tenure and land value in Australia.
Users should exercise caution in comparing these estimates to other environmental indicators due to differences in concepts, scope, coverage and methods. Land cover relates to the observed physical and biological cover of the land surface and should not be confused with land use.
This experimental account is compiled using Digital Earth Australia land cover spatial products which uses spatial data and images recorded by satellites to detect changes in land cover across Australia.

Overview

Climatic conditions such as El Niño, La Niña and the Indian Ocean Dipole influence the extent of land cover classes. In particular, vegetation and water bodies respond dynamically to wet and dry conditions. These climatic shifts reveal long-term cyclical patterns in land cover extent.

This release includes updated data through to 2024. Trends observed between 2019 and 2024 reflect the impact of dry conditions leading up to 2019, followed by wetter conditions between 2020 and 2023. This pattern is evident in cover classes such as Sparsely vegetated areas, which increased substantially prior to 2019, then notably decreased between 2020 and 2023.

This account publishes data at a 30 metre resolution, an improvement in granularity compared to the previous release, which used a 250 metre resolution. While overall trends across land cover classes remain broadly consistent, the finer resolution has affected the reported levels due to reclassification and movement between classes. For further details, refer to the methodology section of this publication.

Proportion of land cover classes, Australia 1988–2024
Year	Total (%)	Herbaceous crops (%)	Grassland (%)	Tree covered areas (%)	Sparsely vegetated areas (%)	Other land cover* (%)
1988	100	17.8	36.9	8.6	35.5	1.2
1989	100	19.5	39.1	9.9	29.9	1.6
1990	100	19	36.3	10.1	33	1.6
1991	100	16.9	42.2	8.1	31.8	1.1
1992	100	20.2	37.7	7.9	32.9	1.3
1993	100	16.1	43.3	8.5	30.8	1.3
1994	100	13.5	44.7	9.2	31.7	0.8
1995	100	19.2	41.2	10.8	27.4	1.4
1996	100	16.1	40	10.9	31.8	1.2
1997	100	17.1	44.7	9.9	27.1	1.2
1998	100	17.5	42.6	10.6	28.1	1.3
1999	100	6.2	57.7	10.4	24.9	0.9
2000	100	13	54.6	15	15.8	1.6
2001	100	13	52.3	14.5	18.7	1.5
2002	100	10.3	51.6	11.9	25.3	0.8
2003	100	7.9	52.2	8.1	31.1	0.7
2004	100	9.8	52.5	9.8	27	0.9
2005	100	9.1	46.6	9.5	34.1	0.7
2006	100	8.6	53.8	9.1	27.8	0.7
2007	100	9.8	50.3	9.4	29.7	0.8
2008	100	7.8	50.3	8.6	32.6	0.7
2009	100	7.8	50.3	8.6	32.6	0.7
2010	100	11.1	51.6	10.7	25.3	1.3
2011	100	9.1	64	11.7	13.7	1.4
2012	100	11.8	52.7	14.1	20.1	1.3
2013	100	7.7	50.5	10.8	30.2	0.9
2014	100	7.5	51.3	10.6	29.7	0.9
2015	100	7.6	49.5	10.2	32	0.8
2016	100	10.2	48.4	10.6	29.7	1
2017	100	6.1	58.2	11.1	23.6	0.9
2018	100	5.5	51.5	10.5	31.7	0.7
2019	100	6.5	43.2	8.9	40.7	0.7
2020	100	8.6	40.3	9.8	40.4	0.9
2021	100	7.8	46	11.3	33.9	1
2022	100	10.5	41.6	14	32.1	1.7
2023	100	7.4	48.3	13.8	29.2	1.3
2024	100	8.8	44.2	14.9	30.6	1.4

Proportion of land cover classes, Australia 1988–2024

["Year","Total","Herbaceous crops","Grassland","Tree covered areas","Sparsely vegetated areas","Other land cover*"]

[["1988","1989","1990","1991","1992","1993","1994","1995","1996","1997","1998","1999","2000","2001","2002","2003","2004","2005","2006","2007","2008","2009","2010","2011","2012","2013","2014","2015","2016","2017","2018","2019","2020","2021","2022","2023","2024"],[[100],[100],[100],[100],[100],[100],[100],[100],[100],[100],[100],[100],[100],[100],[100],[100],[100],[100],[100],[100],[100],[100],[100],[100],[100],[100],[100],[100],[100],[100],[100],[100],[100],[100],[100],[100],[100]],[[17.8],[19.5],[19],[16.9],[20.2],[16.1],[13.5],[19.2],[16.1],[17.1],[17.5],[6.2],[13],[13],[10.3],[7.9],[9.8],[9.1],[8.6],[9.8],[7.8],[7.8],[11.1],[9.1],[11.8],[7.7],[7.5],[7.6],[10.2],[6.1],[5.5],[6.5],[8.6],[7.8],[10.5],[7.4],[8.8]],[[36.9],[39.1],[36.3],[42.2],[37.7],[43.3],[44.7],[41.2],[40],[44.7],[42.6],[57.7],[54.6],[52.3],[51.6],[52.2],[52.5],[46.6],[53.8],[50.3],[50.3],[50.3],[51.6],[64],[52.7],[50.5],[51.3],[49.5],[48.4],[58.2],[51.5],[43.2],[40.3],[46],[41.6],[48.3],[44.2]],[[8.6],[9.9],[10.1],[8.1],[7.9],[8.5],[9.2],[10.8],[10.9],[9.9],[10.6],[10.4],[15],[14.5],[11.9],[8.1],[9.8],[9.5],[9.1],[9.4],[8.6],[8.6],[10.7],[11.7],[14.1],[10.8],[10.6],[10.2],[10.6],[11.1],[10.5],[8.9],[9.8],[11.3],[14],[13.8],[14.9]],[[35.5],[29.9],[33],[31.8],[32.9],[30.8],[31.7],[27.4],[31.8],[27.1],[28.1],[24.9],[15.8],[18.7],[25.3],[31.1],[27],[34.1],[27.8],[29.7],[32.6],[32.6],[25.3],[13.7],[20.1],[30.2],[29.7],[32],[29.7],[23.6],[31.7],[40.7],[40.4],[33.9],[32.1],[29.2],[30.6]],[[1.2],[1.6],[1.6],[1.1],[1.3],[1.3],[0.8],[1.4],[1.2],[1.2],[1.3],[0.9],[1.6],[1.5],[0.8],[0.7],[0.9],[0.7],[0.7],[0.8],[0.7],[0.7],[1.3],[1.4],[1.3],[0.9],[0.9],[0.8],[1],[0.9],[0.7],[0.7],[0.9],[1],[1.7],[1.3],[1.4]]]

[]

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*Includes all other land cover classes

In 2024:

44.2% (340.0 million hectares) of total land was Grassland.
30.6% (235.2 million hectares) of total land was Sparsely vegetated areas.
14.9% (114.5 million hectares) of total land was Tree covered areas.
8.8% (67.9 million hectares) of total land was Herbaceous crops.

Land cover reference table

The following table outlines the main land cover types featured in this account. ABS land cover classifications are based on FAO LCCS version 2, which have been modified to align more closely with the land cover classes recommended by the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA). This release uses land cover classifications that have been further simplified to improve readability in the text and charts.

Simplified Classification	ABS Classification	Definition	Examples
Grassland	Natural terrestrial vegetated: Herbaceous	Areas where the dominant vegetative cover is below two metres in height and woody canopy cover is less than 20%.	Grasslands and shrublands
Sparsely vegetated areas	Natural surfaces	Areas with less than 4% vegetative cover that do not have an artificial cover from human activities.	Bare rock, sands and deserts
Inland water bodies (Perennial)	Water: Perennial	Areas that are covered by water, either naturally or artificially for more than 9 months of the year.	Lakes, rivers, reservoirs and canals
Inland water bodies (Non-perennial)	Water: Non-perennial	Areas that are covered by water, either naturally or artificially for less than or equal to 9 months of the year.	Lakes, rivers, reservoirs and canals
Herbaceous crops	Cultivated terrestrial vegetated: Herbaceous	Areas where the natural vegetation has been removed or modified and replaced by other types of vegetative cover due to human activity.	Wheat, potato and tomato crops, and grazed pastures
Tree covered areas	Natural terrestrial vegetated: Woody	Areas where the vegetative cover is at least two metres in height and has at least 20% canopy cover. These areas would be dominated by shrubs and trees.	Forests and woodlands
Artificial surfaces	Artificial surfaces	Areas that have an artificial cover as a result of human activities.	Cities, towns, transportation, open mines, quarries and waste disposal

Grassland and Sparsely vegetated areas

Grassland and Sparsely vegetated areas are inversely related. Shifts between both cover classes occur because of changes in climatic conditions. Wetter years see Grassland cover increase and Sparsely vegetated areas decrease as rainfall promotes vegetation growth. While drier years see Sparsely vegetated areas increase and Grassland cover decrease as vegetation becomes sparser.

Grassland and Sparsely vegetated areas extent, Australia 1988–2024
Year	Grassland (ha)	Sparsely vegetated areas (ha)
1988	283,545,388	272,778,358
1989	300,348,677	230,126,576
1990	279,046,582	253,778,439
1991	324,139,603	244,122,460
1992	289,956,446	252,638,098
1993	332,943,544	236,783,386
1994	343,965,665	243,442,504
1995	316,572,576	210,932,282
1996	307,629,820	244,438,179
1997	343,720,805	208,132,175
1998	327,239,571	215,993,010
1999	443,374,196	191,240,364
2000	419,818,330	121,531,514
2001	402,068,846	143,983,436
2002	396,432,565	194,775,992
2003	401,194,176	238,951,467
2004	403,590,723	207,793,835
2005	358,509,462	261,814,665
2006	413,419,843	213,552,054
2007	387,023,329	228,207,229
2008	386,813,260	250,820,197
2009	386,813,293	250,820,125
2010	396,545,048	194,123,631
2011	492,109,371	105,673,952
2012	405,153,478	154,536,857
2013	388,142,785	232,194,401
2014	394,575,100	228,435,099
2015	380,210,900	245,736,739
2016	372,424,103	228,440,496
2017	447,706,715	181,614,320
2018	396,197,543	243,910,850
2019	331,909,168	312,818,880
2020	310,135,519	310,563,301
2021	353,377,790	260,593,727
2022	319,549,087	247,146,544
2023	371,362,712	224,707,720
2024	339,983,781	235,234,494

La Niña (1998–2001)
La Niña (2010–2012)
El Niño (2002–2003)
El Niño (2015–2016)
La Niña (2020–2023)

Grassland and Sparsely vegetated areas extent, Australia 1988–2024

["Year","Grassland","Sparsely vegetated areas"]

[["1988","1989","1990","1991","1992","1993","1994","1995","1996","1997","1998","1999","2000","2001","2002","2003","2004","2005","2006","2007","2008","2009","2010","2011","2012","2013","2014","2015","2016","2017","2018","2019","2020","2021","2022","2023","2024"],[[283545388],[300348677],[279046582],[324139603],[289956446],[332943544],[343965665],[316572576],[307629820],[343720805],[327239571],[443374196],[419818330],[402068846],[396432565],[401194176],[403590723],[358509462],[413419843],[387023329],[386813260],[386813293],[396545048],[492109371],[405153478],[388142785],[394575100],[380210900],[372424103],[447706715],[396197543],[331909168],[310135519],[353377790],[319549087],[371362712],[339983781]],[[272778358],[230126576],[253778439],[244122460],[252638098],[236783386],[243442504],[210932282],[244438179],[208132175],[215993010],[191240364],[121531514],[143983436],[194775992],[238951467],[207793835],[261814665],[213552054],[228207229],[250820197],[250820125],[194123631],[105673952],[154536857],[232194401],[228435099],[245736739],[228440496],[181614320],[243910850],[312818880],[310563301],[260593727],[247146544],[224707720],[235234494]]]

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Grassland

Grassland experienced a net increase of 8.1 million hectares (2.4%) between 2019–2024. This was driven by 60.0 million hectares of Sparsely vegetated areas transitioning to Grassland, which was offset by 44.6 million hectares of Grassland transitioning to Tree covered areas and 5.1 million hectares converted to Herbaceous crops.
This increase was primarily driven by the Northern Territory (16.4 million hectares), and was offset by decreases in Queensland (-6.3 million hectares) and Western Australia (-4.5 million hectares).
Grassland cover peaked in 2011 at 492.1 million hectares, while Sparsely vegetated areas reached its lowest coverage at 105.7 million hectares.

Sparsely vegetated areas

Sparsely vegetated areas experienced a net decrease of 77.6 million hectares (-24.8%) between 2019–2024. This was driven by 60.0 million hectares transitioning to Grassland and 14.0 million hectares converted to Herbaceous crops.
This decrease was primarily driven by the Northern Territory (-27.1 million hectares), New South Wales (-18.7 million hectares) and Queensland (-16.2 million hectares).
2020 was the only year Sparsely vegetated areas surpassed Grassland as the dominant land cover type, reaching 310.6 million hectares.

Natural terrestrial vegetated: Herbaceous (Grassland) coverage by SA2, 2019–2024

This map presents the proportion (area) of each Statistical Area Level 2 2021 (SA2) that is covered by Natural terrestrial vegetated: Herbaceous (Grassland) for the data reference period 2024. SA2s are defined by the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Edition 3.

Natural terrestrial vegetated: Herbaceous proportion is divided into six categories. These are listed below along with their category display colour.

55% or more (very dark green)
35% to less than 55% (dark green)
20% to less than 35% (green)
10% to less than 20% (light green)
Less than 10% (very light green)
No Data (dark grey)

The map highlights Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2) regions with varying proportions of Natural terrestrial vegetated: Herbaceous land coverage. A ‘band’ of high proportion cover stretches from northwestern Western Australia across to northeastern Queensland. Additional high-coverage areas are scattered throughout the country. Central regions display moderate levels of cover, while SA2’s with no Natural terrestrial vegetated: Herbaceous cover are located in major cities along the coast of Australia.

SA2 regions with Natural terrestrial vegetated: Herbaceous proportion below 1% are displayed as less than 1%. Data for the Torres and Torres Strait Islands SA2s, as well as for Australia’s external territories, has been excluded due to incomplete spatial coverage in these regions.

Accessibility statement: We are committed to providing information and services to the widest possible audience. We’ve designed this website to comply with the Australian Government Digital Service Standard and aim to meet the latest WCAG Guidelines which describe how to make web content more usable and accessible for everyone. However, some functions of this interactive map may be inaccessible, or difficult to use with assistive technology. All data underlying this map can be downloaded in table format from the Data downloads section of this publication. For further information or assistance, or to advise of accessibility issues with this product, please email client.services@abs.gov.au.

Source

ABS ASGS Ed3 SA2 2021 Natural terrestrial vegetated: Herbaceous 2024 - Overview

Inland water bodies (Perennial and Non-perennial)

Fluctuations in land covered by Inland water bodies (Perennial and Non-perennial) are in response to climatic conditions such as El Niño, La Niña and the Indian Ocean Dipole. Australia experienced a La Niña event between the years 2020–2023, after a strong El Niño event between 2015–2016.

Inland water bodies (Perennial and Non-perennial) extent, Australia 1988–2024
Year	Inland water bodies (Perennial) (ha)	Inland water bodies (Non-perennial) (ha)
1988	947,442	3,074,575
1989	1,687,311	5,304,025
1990	1,256,175	5,244,430
1991	1,290,331	3,248,577
1992	1,217,423	3,885,524
1993	1,304,059	3,604,512
1994	1,105,349	1,925,160
1995	1,310,650	3,641,320
1996	1,131,955	2,761,547
1997	1,262,947	3,786,136
1998	1,054,786	3,805,715
1999	1,319,499	2,786,153
2000	1,684,378	5,382,079
2001	1,926,026	4,745,318
2002	1,114,861	1,875,995
2003	916,034	2,055,452
2004	992,906	3,172,251
2005	955,357	1,951,514
2006	1,014,315	2,197,426
2007	966,097	2,392,332
2008	985,750	1,988,094
2009	985,746	1,988,091
2010	1,243,185	5,402,413
2011	2,213,335	5,770,307
2012	1,613,035	3,228,152
2013	1,248,937	2,445,852
2014	1,126,705	2,730,282
2015	1,030,469	2,109,879
2016	1,094,689	3,698,475
2017	1,223,747	2,842,456
2018	1,038,163	1,740,596
2019	909,375	1,740,020
2020	1,024,862	1,966,180
2021	1,077,300	2,629,806
2022	1,394,979	4,344,294
2023	1,733,371	2,925,534
2024	1,949,515	3,727,051

La Niña (1998–2001)
La Niña (2010–2012)
La Niña (2020–2023)
El Niño (2002–2003)
El Niño (2015–2016)

Inland water bodies (Perennial and Non-perennial) extent, Australia 1988–2024

["Year","Inland water bodies (Perennial)","Inland water bodies (Non-perennial)"]

[["1988","1989","1990","1991","1992","1993","1994","1995","1996","1997","1998","1999","2000","2001","2002","2003","2004","2005","2006","2007","2008","2009","2010","2011","2012","2013","2014","2015","2016","2017","2018","2019","2020","2021","2022","2023","2024"],[[947442],[1687311],[1256175],[1290331],[1217423],[1304059],[1105349],[1310650],[1131955],[1262947],[1054786],[1319499],[1684378],[1926026],[1114861],[916034],[992906],[955357],[1014315],[966097],[985750],[985746],[1243185],[2213335],[1613035],[1248937],[1126705],[1030469],[1094689],[1223747],[1038163],[909375],[1024862],[1077300],[1394979],[1733371],[1949515]],[[3074575],[5304025],[5244430],[3248577],[3885524],[3604512],[1925160],[3641320],[2761547],[3786136],[3805715],[2786153],[5382079],[4745318],[1875995],[2055452],[3172251],[1951514],[2197426],[2392332],[1988094],[1988091],[5402413],[5770307],[3228152],[2445852],[2730282],[2109879],[3698475],[2842456],[1740596],[1740020],[1966180],[2629806],[4344294],[2925534],[3727051]]]

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Inland water bodies (Perennial)

In 2024, 0.3% of total land was Inland water bodies (Perennial) (1.9 million hectares).
Inland water bodies (Perennial) experienced a net increase of 1.0 million hectares (114.4%) between 2019–2024. This was driven by increases of 0.4 million hectares which were previously Grassland and 0.4 million hectares which were previously Sparsely vegetated areas.
This increase was primarily driven by the Northern Territory (0.6 million hectares), New South Wales (0.2 million hectares) and Western Australia (0.1 million hectares).
Inland water bodies (Perennial) land coverage peaked in 2011 at 2.2 million hectares and was at its lowest in 2019 at 0.9 million hectares.

Inland water bodies (Non-perennial)

In 2024, 0.5% of total land was Inland water bodies (Non-perennial) (3.7 million hectares).
Inland water bodies (Non-perennial) experienced a net increase of 2.0 million hectares (114.2% increase) between 2019–2024. This was driven by increases of 1.2 million hectares which were previously Sparsely vegetated areas and 0.7 million hectares which were previously Grassland.
This increase was primarily driven by Western Australia (1.0 million hectares), the Northern Territory (0.8 million hectares) and New South Wales (0.2 million hectares).
Inland water bodies (Non-perennial) land coverage peaked in 2011 at 5.8 million hectares and was at its lowest in 2019 at 1.7 million hectares.

Herbaceous crops

Decreases in Herbaceous crop cover are likely driven by changes to intensive agricultural practices with a shift towards improved land management practices (including grazing), nature conservation and managed resource protection. Changes in agricultural practices have most likely resulted in a transition to natural herbaceous vegetation cover i.e. allowing the land to return to native vegetation.

Herbaceous crops extent, Australia 1988–2024
Year	Herbaceous crops (ha)
1988	137,002,853
1989	149,856,713
1990	145,686,965
1991	130,118,788
1992	155,447,499
1993	124,019,606
1994	103,817,017
1995	147,741,380
1996	123,713,403
1997	131,117,285
1998	134,519,741
1999	47,753,800
2000	99,988,700
2001	100,203,615
2002	79,339,216
2003	61,082,761
2004	75,682,957
2005	70,247,272
2006	66,017,262
2007	75,435,524
2008	59,664,073
2009	59,664,088
2010	85,546,530
2011	70,138,941
2012	90,708,062
2013	58,847,329
2014	57,927,272
2015	58,698,054
2016	78,453,132
2017	46,838,740
2018	42,232,581
2019	49,939,960
2020	65,871,586
2021	60,071,364
2022	80,933,409
2023	57,010,238
2024	67,931,958

Herbaceous crops extent, Australia 1988–2024

["Year","Herbaceous crops"]

[["1988","1989","1990","1991","1992","1993","1994","1995","1996","1997","1998","1999","2000","2001","2002","2003","2004","2005","2006","2007","2008","2009","2010","2011","2012","2013","2014","2015","2016","2017","2018","2019","2020","2021","2022","2023","2024"],[[137002853],[149856713],[145686965],[130118788],[155447499],[124019606],[103817017],[147741380],[123713403],[131117285],[134519741],[47753800],[99988700],[100203615],[79339216],[61082761],[75682957],[70247272],[66017262],[75435524],[59664073],[59664088],[85546530],[70138941],[90708062],[58847329],[57927272],[58698054],[78453132],[46838740],[42232581],[49939960],[65871586],[60071364],[80933409],[57010238],[67931958]]]

[]

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Herbaceous crops experienced a net increase of 18.0 million hectares (36.0%) between 2019–2024. This was driven by increases of 14.0 million hectares which were previously Sparsely vegetated areas and 5.1 million hectares which were previously Grassland.
This increase was primarily driven by Western Australia (8.4 million hectares), New South Wales (7.4 million hectares) and Queensland (3.9 million hectares).
Herbaceous crops experienced a 73.4 million hectare decline between 1998 and 2003. Coverage reached its lowest levels in 2018 (42.2 million hectares).

Tree covered areas

Tree covered areas experienced a net increase of 45.8 million hectares (66.6%) between 2019–2024. This was driven by increases of 44.6 million hectares which were previously Grassland and 1.6 million hectares which were Sparsely vegetated areas. This was offset by 0.4 million hectares converted to Herbaceous crops.
This increase was primarily driven by Queensland (17.7 million hectares), New South Wales (9.0 million hectares) and the Northern Territory (8.3 million hectares).
Tree covered areas peaked in 2000 at 115.3 million hectares, with a near-record high of 114.5 million hectares in 2024.
General trends are more reflective of true movements, as peaks in this data may be due to misclassifications. Tree covered areas are modelled from satellite data based on vegetation density. Rapid growth of Grassland and Herbaceous crops during wetter years may be misclassified as Tree covered areas.

Artificial surfaces

Artificial surfaces account for 0.1% of Australia’s land cover in 2024. Since 1988, Artificial surfaces have increased by 281.9 thousand hectares (105.7%) and experienced average annual growth of 7.8 thousand hectares (2.9%) per year. This increase is driven by growth in cities, towns and mines. All states and territories have seen an increase in extent of Artificial surfaces since 1988.

Artificial surfaces extent, Australia 1988–2024
Year	Artificial surfaces (ha)	Artificial surfaces (linear estimate) (ha)
1988	266,830	260,595
1989	273,543	269,234
1990	267,287	277,874
1991	327,783	286,513
1992	333,326	295,152
1993	330,513	303,791
1994	321,149	312,430
1995	307,545	321,070
1996	312,591	329,709
1997	349,553	338,348
1998	335,409	346,987
1999	335,554	355,626
2000	307,800	364,266
2001	316,226	372,905
2002	367,543	381,544
2003	355,681	390,183
2004	396,713	398,822
2005	397,045	407,462
2006	436,501	416,101
2007	466,543	424,740
2008	444,937	433,379
2009	444,937	442,018
2010	430,213	450,658
2011	422,824	459,297
2012	471,647	467,936
2013	496,901	476,575
2014	494,045	485,214
2015	511,808	493,854
2016	515,000	502,493
2017	512,016	511,132
2018	557,124	519,771
2019	574,961	528,410
2020	557,034	537,050
2021	538,880	545,689
2022	530,019	554,328
2023	539,500	562,967
2024	548,764	571,606

Artificial surfaces extent, Australia 1988–2024

["Year","Artificial surfaces","Artificial surfaces (linear estimate)"]

[["1988","1989","1990","1991","1992","1993","1994","1995","1996","1997","1998","1999","2000","2001","2002","2003","2004","2005","2006","2007","2008","2009","2010","2011","2012","2013","2014","2015","2016","2017","2018","2019","2020","2021","2022","2023","2024"],[[266830],[273543],[267287],[327783],[333326],[330513],[321149],[307545],[312591],[349553],[335409],[335554],[307800],[316226],[367543],[355681],[396713],[397045],[436501],[466543],[444937],[444937],[430213],[422824],[471647],[496901],[494045],[511808],[515000],[512016],[557124],[574961],[557034],[538880],[530019],[539500],[548764]],[[260595],[269234],[277874],[286513],[295152],[303791],[312430],[321070],[329709],[338348],[346987],[355626],[364266],[372905],[381544],[390183],[398822],[407462],[416101],[424740],[433379],[442018],[450658],[459297],[467936],[476575],[485214],[493854],[502493],[511132],[519771],[528410],[537050],[545689],[554328],[562967],[571606]]]

[]

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National

In 2024, 0.1% of total land was Artificial surfaces (548.8 thousand hectares).
Artificial surfaces experienced a net decrease of 26.2 thousand hectares (-4.6%) between 2019–2024. This was driven by the conversion of 19.7 thousand hectares to Woody crops, 14.2 thousand hectares to Herbaceous crops and 12.1 thousand hectares to Tree covered areas. This was offset by increases of 10.5 thousand hectares which were previously Grassland and 9.4 thousand hectares which were previously Sparsely vegetated areas.
This decrease was primarily driven by New South Wales (-15.5 thousand hectares), Queensland (-13.0 thousand hectares) and the Australian Capital Territory (-2.0 thousand hectares).
Artificial surfaces land coverage peaked in 2019 at 575.0 thousand hectares.
Year-on-year fluctuations in Artificial surfaces may not reflect true change. During wetter years, increases to surrounding vegetation density may result in Artificial surfaces being misclassified as vegetation. In drier years, bare earth, rocks and other highly reflective surfaces can be misclassified as Artificial surfaces.

States and territories

Between 1988–2024, Artificial surfaces increased by:

47.7 thousand hectares (67.2%) in New South Wales.
90.4 thousand hectares (125.1%) in Victoria.
51.6 thousand hectares (179.8%) in Queensland.
17.7 thousand hectares (37.7%) in South Australia.
61.9 thousand hectares (171.5%) in Western Australia.
5.3 thousand hectares (68.2%) in Tasmania.
3.1 thousand hectares (230.5%) in the Northern Territory.
4.3 thousand hectares (152.8%) in the Australian Capital Territory.

Artificial surfaces Index, states and territories 1988–2024 (1988 = 100)
	New South Wales (Index)	Victoria (Index)	Queensland (Index)	South Australia (Index)	Western Australia (Index)	Tasmania (Index)	Northern Territory (Index)	Australian Capital Territory (Index)
1988	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
1989	92	107	128	92	105	107	96	121
1990	98	103	117	88	98	103	108	116
1991	127	122	158	103	109	129	123	152
1992	121	120	148	105	144	143	129	137
1993	117	118	173	97	142	124	132	134
1994	122	116	136	109	128	116	118	139
1995	104	126	134	96	124	106	128	168
1996	117	116	129	100	134	100	138	147
1997	128	142	141	109	139	91	153	165
1998	119	132	131	104	149	122	150	159
1999	121	129	125	106	157	102	165	144
2000	102	115	144	94	144	123	142	139
2001	106	122	144	94	146	111	152	140
2002	122	150	182	105	154	112	148	172
2003	113	144	159	106	167	111	160	169
2004	141	152	169	121	176	121	182	201
2005	133	155	183	116	183	122	187	209
2006	149	176	204	120	195	128	218	194
2007	152	187	247	122	205	139	229	261
2008	130	195	214	116	209	160	190	223
2009	130	195	214	116	209	160	190	223
2010	131	172	216	115	220	127	236	175
2011	117	172	201	126	221	130	225	220
2012	144	189	237	130	231	130	260	240
2013	161	189	255	130	248	143	264	268
2014	156	187	278	129	239	131	282	266
2015	147	214	249	137	261	158	283	259
2016	156	203	254	132	276	159	283	248
2017	161	200	254	132	266	147	266	265
2018	184	222	286	135	267	143	303	310
2019	189	225	325	132	270	156	307	324
2020	180	217	307	136	266	152	319	308
2021	170	211	279	136	269	153	348	289
2022	158	220	274	131	266	153	319	263
2023	166	220	279	126	275	158	315	270
2024	167	225	280	138	271	168	330	253

Artificial surfaces Index, states and territories 1988–2024 (1988 = 100)

["","New South Wales","Victoria","Queensland","South Australia","Western Australia","Tasmania","Northern Territory","Australian Capital Territory"]

[["1988","1989","1990","1991","1992","1993","1994","1995","1996","1997","1998","1999","2000","2001","2002","2003","2004","2005","2006","2007","2008","2009","2010","2011","2012","2013","2014","2015","2016","2017","2018","2019","2020","2021","2022","2023","2024"],[[100],[92],[98],[127],[121],[117],[122],[104],[117],[128],[119],[121],[102],[106],[122],[113],[141],[133],[149],[152],[130],[130],[131],[117],[144],[161],[156],[147],[156],[161],[184],[189],[180],[170],[158],[166],[167]],[[100],[107],[103],[122],[120],[118],[116],[126],[116],[142],[132],[129],[115],[122],[150],[144],[152],[155],[176],[187],[195],[195],[172],[172],[189],[189],[187],[214],[203],[200],[222],[225],[217],[211],[220],[220],[225]],[[100],[128],[117],[158],[148],[173],[136],[134],[129],[141],[131],[125],[144],[144],[182],[159],[169],[183],[204],[247],[214],[214],[216],[201],[237],[255],[278],[249],[254],[254],[286],[325],[307],[279],[274],[279],[280]],[[100],[92],[88],[103],[105],[97],[109],[96],[100],[109],[104],[106],[94],[94],[105],[106],[121],[116],[120],[122],[116],[116],[115],[126],[130],[130],[129],[137],[132],[132],[135],[132],[136],[136],[131],[126],[138]],[[100],[105],[98],[109],[144],[142],[128],[124],[134],[139],[149],[157],[144],[146],[154],[167],[176],[183],[195],[205],[209],[209],[220],[221],[231],[248],[239],[261],[276],[266],[267],[270],[266],[269],[266],[275],[271]],[[100],[107],[103],[129],[143],[124],[116],[106],[100],[91],[122],[102],[123],[111],[112],[111],[121],[122],[128],[139],[160],[160],[127],[130],[130],[143],[131],[158],[159],[147],[143],[156],[152],[153],[153],[158],[168]],[[100],[96],[108],[123],[129],[132],[118],[128],[138],[153],[150],[165],[142],[152],[148],[160],[182],[187],[218],[229],[190],[190],[236],[225],[260],[264],[282],[283],[283],[266],[303],[307],[319],[348],[319],[315],[330]],[[100],[121],[116],[152],[137],[134],[139],[168],[147],[165],[159],[144],[139],[140],[172],[169],[201],[209],[194],[261],[223],[223],[175],[220],[240],[268],[266],[259],[248],[265],[310],[324],[308],[289],[263],[270],[253]]]

[]

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[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"Index number","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(Index)","table_units":"(Index)","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

In 2024, Victoria recorded the greatest cover of Artificial surfaces at 162.7 thousand hectares, followed by New South Wales at 118.6 thousand hectares.
Of all states and territories, South Australia recorded the greatest increase in Artificial surfaces across 2019 to 2024 (2.7 thousand hectares).
The Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria recorded their greatest cover of Artificial surfaces in 2019.
South Australia and Tasmania recorded their greatest cover of Artificial surfaces in 2024.

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Land cover reference table

Grassland and Sparsely vegetated areas

Grassland

Sparsely vegetated areas

Natural terrestrial vegetated: Herbaceous (Grassland) coverage by SA2, 2019–2024

Inland water bodies (Perennial and Non-perennial)

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Physical Asset Accounts and Change Matrices for Land Cover, 2019 to 2020

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Physical Asset Accounts and Change Matrices for Land Cover, 2023 to 2024

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Key statistics

About this release

Overview

Land cover reference table

Grassland and Sparsely vegetated areas

Grassland

Sparsely vegetated areas

Natural terrestrial vegetated: Herbaceous (Grassland) coverage by SA2, 2019–2024

Inland water bodies (Perennial and Non-perennial)

Inland water bodies (Perennial)

Inland water bodies (Non-perennial)

Herbaceous crops

Tree covered areas

Artificial surfaces

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Physical Asset Accounts and Change Matrices for Land Cover, 2023 to 2024

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