About the data
Definitions
Data sources

About the data

The data in the table show that land use patterns are changing. They also indicate major differences in resource endowments and uses among countries. True comparability is limited, however, by variations in definitions, statistical methods, and the quality of data collection. For example, countries use different definitions of land use. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the primary compiler of these data, occasionally adjusts its definitions of land use categories and sometimes revises earlier data. Because the data reflect changes in data reporting procedures as well as actual changes in land use, apparent trends should be interpreted with caution.

Satellite images show land use different from that given by ground-based measures in terms of both area under cultivation and type of land use. Furthermore, land use data in countries such as India are based on reporting systems that were geared to the collection of land revenue. Because taxes on land are no longer a major source of government revenue, the quality and coverage of land use data (except for cropland) have declined. Data on forest area may be particularly unreliable because of different definitions and irregular surveys.

Estimates of forest area are from the FAO’s State of the World’s Forests 1997, which provides information on forest cover as of 1995 and a revised estimate of forest cover in 1990. Forest cover data for developing countries are based on country assessments that were prepared at different times and that, for reporting purposes, had to be adapted to the standard reference years of 1990 and 1995. This adjustment was made with a deforestation model that was designed to correlate forest cover change over time with ancillary variables, including population change and density, initial forest cover, and ecological zone of the forest area under consideration. Although the same model was used to estimate forest cover for the 1990 forest assessment, the inputs to State of the World’s Forests 1997 had more recent and accurate information on boundaries of ecological zones and, in some countries, new national forest cover assessments. Specifically, for the calculation of the forest cover area for 1995 and recalculation of the 1990 estimates, new forest inventory information was used for Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, and Sierra Leone. The new information on global totals raised estimates of forest cover. For industrial countries, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and the FAO use a detailed questionnaire to survey the forest cover in each country.

Definitions

• Land area is a country’s total area, excluding area under inland water bodies. In most cases the definition of inland water bodies includes major rivers and lakes. • Rural population density is the rural population divided by the arable land area. Rural population is the difference between total and urban population (see definitions in tables 2.1 and 3.10). • Land use is broken into three categories. Cropland includes land under temporary and permanent crops, temporary meadows, market and kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow. Permanent crops are those that do not need to be replanted after each harvest, excluding trees grown for wood or timber. Permanent pasture is land used for five or more years for forage crops, either cultivated or growing wild. Other land includes forest and woodland as well as logged-over areas to be forested in the near future. Also included are uncultivated land, grassland not used for pasture, wetlands, wastelands, and built-up areas—residential, recreational, and industrial lands and areas covered by roads and other fabricated infrastructure. • Forest area is land under natural or planted stands of trees, whether productive or not (see About the data). • Annual deforestation refers to the permanent conversion of natural forest area to other uses, including shifting cultivation, permanent agriculture, ranching, settlements, and infrastructure development. Deforested areas do not include areas logged but intended for regeneration or areas degraded by fuelwood gathering, acid precipitation, or forest fires. Negative numbers indicate an increase in forest area.

Data sources

Data on land area and land use are from the FAO’s electronic files and are published in its Production Yearbook. The FAO gathers these data from national agencies through annual questionnaires and by analyzing the results of national agricultural censuses. Forestry data are from the FAO’s State of the World’s Forests 1997.

THE WORLD BANK METHODOLOGY:

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----- On WORLD DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS

Size of the economy

Quality of life

Development progress

Trends in long-term development

Long-term structural change

Key indicators for other economies

Population

Land use and deforestation

Growth of output

Credit, investment and expenditures

Integration with the global economy

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