CEPI - European Association of Real Estate Professions

Land is used in many different ways throughout Europe. On 4 October Eurostat published the Land Use/Cover Area Frame Survey conducted in 2009, the largest harmonised land survey implemented in the EU to date. CEPI welcomes the publication of this information which will be of interest to those working in the property sector.
The survey shows that forests and other wooded areas occupy almost 40% of the total area of the EU, with more than half of the country being covered by wooded areas in Finland, Sweden, Slovenia, Estonia and Latvia. Overall the use of land for residential, commercial and industrial purposes accounts for just over 10% of the total area of the EU, with the Netherlands and Belgium having the largest shares of land covered with built-up and other artificial areas (such as roads and railways). The EU Member States with the highest shares of areas used for residential, commercial and industrial purposes are the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark. Further details are available on the Eurostat website (news release of 4 October).