The amount of built-up land in Belgium went from 265,498 hectares in 2015 to 278,687 hectares last year, according to the latest data from the national statistical office, Statbel, published on Tuesday.
In 1990, just 179.073 hectares of Belgian land was built on. Since then, the amount of built-up and related land has kept growing, increasing from 497,959 hectares in 1990 to 666,706 last year.
Following the same trend, but to a lesser extent, the amount of land under cultivation has increased over the past 31 years – from 1.355 million hectares to 1.366 million.
On the other hand, wooded areas are slightly less extensive than before, going from 609,744 hectares in 1990 to 603,940 last year.
Belgium is made up of 45% farmland and 20% of wooded areas. About 9% of the territory is devoted to housing and 7% to transport.
