Land statistics Unproductive areas have remained stable in Switzerland
The size of unproductive areas in Switzerland has hardly changed in recent decades. Nationwide, they shrank by around two percent between 1985 and 2018, according to figures published by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) on Monday.
20.01.2025, 08:34
SDA
Overall, a quarter of Switzerland's land is considered unproductive, meaning it is not used for agriculture, forestry or settlement.
Almost half of the unproductive land (45 percent) is rock and scree. The proportion of unproductive vegetation is around 28 percent, that of water bodies a good 17 percent.
Just under 10 percent of the unproductive areas are still covered by glaciers and firn snow.
Glaciers in particular have lost terrain. They have lost a third of their area in 33 years. In the period from 1975 to 1985, glaciers covered around 153,000 hectares. Where the ice melted, mostly vegetation-free areas of scree and rock were left behind.
