The LUCAS LUC historical dataset consists of annual land use and land cover maps from 1950 to 2015 for multiple regions around the globe. It is based on land cover data from the LANDMATE PFT dataset that was generated from ESA-CCI LC data. The ESA-CCI LC land cover classes are converted into 16 plant functional types and non-vegetative classes employing the method of Reinhart et al. (2022). For version 1.1 of the LUCAS LUC dataset, improved versions of the LANDMATE PFT land cover class-translations were employed. The land use change information from the Land-Use Harmonization dataset version 2 (LUH2 v2h, Hurtt et al. 2020) was imposed using the land use translator developed by Hoffmann et al. (2021). For each year, a map is provided that contains 16 plant functional types and non-vegetative classes. The LUCAS LUC dataset was developed within the HICSS project LANDMATE and the WCRP flagship pilot study LUCAS to meet the requirements of downscaling experiments within EURO-CORDEX and other CORDEX regions.