The middle segment is shrinking as small and large forest holdings become more numerous

Nyhet | Statistik - 26 May 2026

Since the beginning of the time series in 1999, forest ownership by natural persons has changed noticeably. The number of owners is declining in the mid-sized holding categories, while both the smallest and the largest holdings are becoming more common.

The total number of owners who are natural persons has decreased from 354,288 in 1999 to 307,665 in 2025, a decline of 46,623 owners. At the same time, the average holding size has increased from 31 to 36 hectares. The median holding size has decreased from 13 to 11 hectares. As a result, the gap between the mean and the median has widened from 18 to 25 hectares.

The number of owners of medium-sized holdings is decreasing across all size classes

The largest decline is found in the >5–20-hectare category, where the number of owners decreases by 31,699 owners between 1999 and 2025. The >20–50-hectare and the >50–100-hectare categories also declined, by 19,060 and 4,588 owners respectively. The contraction of the middle segment is therefore mainly driven by the two smaller mid-sized categories.

More owners of small and large holdings

The combined category above 100 hectares category increased from 21,181 in 1999 to 23,754 in 2025, an increase of 2 573 owners. The group above 1000-hectares more than doubled, from 198 to 430 owners.
The group with less than 5 hectares increased from 103,544 to 109,695, an increase of 6,151 owners between 1999 and 2025.

The statistics are part of Official statistics of Sweden.