List of countries by forest area

Summary

This is a list of countries and territories of the world according to the total area covered by forests, based on data published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). In 2010, the world had 3.92 billion hectares (ha) of tree cover, extending over 30% of its land area. In 2022, it lost 22.8 million ha of tree cover.[1][need quotation to verify]

In 2020, the world had a total forest area of 4.06 billion ha, which was 31 percent of the total land area. This area is equivalent to 0.52 ha per person[2] – although forests are not distributed equally among the world's people or geographically. The tropical domain has the largest proportion of the world's forests (45 percent), followed by the boreal, temperate and subtropical domains. More than half (54 percent) of the world's forests is in only five countries – the Russian Federation (20.1%), Brazil (12.2%), Canada (8.6%), the United States of America (7.6%) and China (5.4%).[2]

Many of the world's forests are being damaged and degraded or are disappearing altogether. Their capacity to provide tangible goods, such as fiber, food, and medicines, as well as essential ecological services, including habitat for biodiversity, carbon storage, and moderation of freshwater flows, is under greater threat than ever before.[3] According to World Resource Institute in Washington, between 2000 and 2020 the world lost 101 million hectares (Mha) of tree cover, mostly tropical and subtropical forests (92%).[3] The FAO is compiling a new global assessment due to be published in 2025.[4]

Planet, continents and regions edit

All areas are given in units of 1000 hectares. Source: Food and Agriculture Organization[5]

Region 1990 2000 2010 2020
World 4,236,433 4,158,050 4,106,317 4,058,931
Asia(including Russia) 1,394,343 1,396,679 1,426,096 1,437,999
South America 973,666 922,645 870,154 844,186
North America and Central America 755,279 752,349 754,190 752,710
Africa 742,801 710,049 676,015 636,639
Europe (excluding Russia) 185,369 192,999 198,846 202,149
Oceania 184,974 183,328 181,015 185,248

Countries and territories edit

 
Russia has the most forest

All areas are given in units of 1000 hectares. Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations[6]

Country 1990 2000 2010 2020
  Afghanistan 1,208 1,208 1,208 1,208
  Albania 789 769 782 789
  Algeria 1,667 1,579 1,918 1,949
  American Samoa 18 18 17 17
  Andorra 16 16 16 16
  Angola 79,263 77,709 72,158 66,607
  Antigua and Barbuda 10 9 9 8
  Argentina 35,204 33,378 30,214 28,573
  Armenia 335 333 331 328
  Australia 133,882 131,814 129,546 134,005
  Austria 3,776 3,838 3,863 3,899
  Azerbaijan 945 987 1,032 1,132
  Bahamas 510 510 510 510
  Bangladesh 1,920 1,920 1,888 1,883
  Barbados 6 6 6 6
  Belarus 7,780 8,273 8,630 8,768
  Belgium 677 667 690 689
  Belize 1,600 1,459 1,391 1,277
  Benin 4,835 4,135 3,635 3,135
  Bermuda 1 1 1 1
  Bhutan 2,507 2,606 2,705 2,725
  Bolivia 57,805 55,101 53,086 50,834
  Bosnia 2,210 2,112 2,103 2,188
  Botswana 18,804 17,621 16,438 15,255
  Brazil 588,898 551,089 511,581 496,620
  Brunei 413 397 380 380
  Bulgaria 3,327 3,375 3,737 3,893
  Burkina Faso 7,717 7,217 6,717 6,216
  Burundi 276 194 194 280
  Cambodia 11,005 10,781 10,589 8,068
  Cameroon 22,500 21,597 20,900 20,340
  Canada 348,273 347,802 347,322 346,928
  Cape Verde 15 40 43 46
  Cayman Islands 13 13 13 13
  Central African Republic 23,203 22,903 22,603 22,303
  Chad 6,730 6,353 5,530 4,313
  Chile 15,246 15,817 16,725 18,211
  China 157,141 177,001 200,610 219,978
  Colombia 64,958 62,736 60,808 59,142
  Comoros 46 42 37 33
  Republic of the Congo 22,315 22,195 22,075 21,946
  Costa Rica 2,907 2,857 2,871 3,035
  Croatia 1,850 1,885 1,920 1,939
  Cuba 2,058 2,435 2,932 3,242
  Cyprus 161 172 173 173
  Czech Republic 2,629 2,637 2,657 2,677
  Democratic Republic of the Congo 150,629 143,899 137,169 126,155
  Denmark 531 572 586 628
  Djibouti 6 6 6 6
  Dominica 50 48 48 48
  Dominican Republic 1,595 1,972 2,073 2,144
  East Timor 963 949 935 921
  Ecuador 14,632 13,731 13,028 12,498
  Egypt 44 59 66 45
  El Salvador 719 674 629 584
  Equatorial Guinea 2,699 2,616 2,532 2,448
  Eritrea 1,150 1,118 1,087 1,055
  Estonia 2,206 2,239 2,336 2,438
  Ethiopia 19,259 18,529 17,799 17,069
  Fiji 940 1,006 1,073 1,140
  Finland 21,875 22,446 22,242 22,409
  France 14,436 15,288 16,419 17,253
  Gabon 23,762 23,700 23,649 23,531
  Gambia 415 357 300 243
  Georgia 2,752 2,761 2,822 2,822
  Germany (see: Forest in Germany) 11,300 11,354 11,409 11,419
  Ghana 9,924 8,849 7,943 7,986
  Greece 3,299 3,600 3,902 3,902
  Grenada 18 18 18 18
  Guatemala 4,781 4,209 3,723 3,528
  Guinea 7,276 6,929 6,569 6,189
  Guinea-Bissau 2,233 2,149 2,064 1,980
  Guyana 18,602 18,564 18,520 18,415
  Haiti 383 381 378 347
  Honduras 6,988 6,778 6,575 6,359
  Hungary 1,814 1,921 2,046 2,053
  Iceland 17 30 45 51
  India 63,938 67,591 69,496 72,160
  Indonesia 118,545 101,280 99,659 92,133
  Iran 9,076 9,326 10,692 10,752
  Iraq 804 818 825 825
  Ireland 462 630 720 782
  Israel 132 153 154 140
  Italy 7,590 8,369 9,028 9,566
  Ivory Coast 7,851 5,094 3,966 2,837
  Jamaica 521 521 558 597
  Japan 24,950 24,876 24,966 24,935
  Jordan 98 98 98 98
  Kazakhstan 3,162 3,157 3,082 3,455
  Kenya 3,859 3,961 3,616 3,611
  Kiribati 1 1 1 1
  Kuwait 3 5 6 6
  Kyrgyzstan 1,136 1,181 1,230 1,315
  Laos 17,843 17,425 16,941 16,596
  Latvia 3,173 3,241 3,372 3,411
  Lebanon 140 138 137 143
  Lesotho 35 35 35 35
  Liberia 8,525 8,223 7,920 7,617
  Libya 217 217 217 217
  Liechtenstein 7 7 7 7
  Lithuania 1,945 2,020 2,170 2,201
  Luxembourg 86 87 89 89
  Madagascar 13,693 13,031 12,562 12,430
  Malawi 3,502 3,082 2,662 2,242
  Malaysia 20,619 19,691 18,948 19,114
  Maldives 1 1 1 1
  Mali 13,296 13,296 13,296 13,296
  Mauritania 476 422 367 313
  Mauritius 41 42 38 39
  Mexico 70,592 68,381 66,943 65,692
  Micronesia 64 64 64 64
  Moldova 325 344 375 387
  Monaco 0 0 0 0
  Mongolia 14,352 14,264 14,184 14,173
  Montenegro 626 626 827 827
  Morocco 5,485 5,507 5,675 5,742
  Mozambique 43,378 41,188 38,972 36,744
  Myanmar 39,218 34,868 31,441 28,544
  Namibia 8,769 8,059 7,349 6,639
    Nepal 5,672 5,781 5,962 5,962
  Netherlands 345 360 373 370
  New Caledonia 831 838 839 838
  New Zealand 9,372 9,850 9,848 9,893
  Nicaragua 6,399 5,399 4,188 3,408
  Niger 1,945 1,328 1,204 1,080
  Nigeria 26,526 24,893 23,260 21,627
  North Korea 6,551 6,476 6,387 6,287
  North Macedonia 912 958 960 1,001
  Norway 12,132 12,113 12,102 12,180
  Oman 3 3 3 3
  Pakistan 4,987 4,511 4,094 3,726
  Palau 38 40 41 41
  Panama 4,607 4,442 4,328 4,214
  Papua New Guinea 36,400 36,278 36,179 35,856
  Paraguay 25,546 22,992 19,570 16,102
  Peru 76,449 75,298 74,050 72,330
  Philippines 7,779 7,309 6,840 7,189
  Poland 8,882 9,059 9,329 9,483
  Portugal 3,399 3,281 3,252 3,312
  Puerto Rico 320 429 491 496
  Qatar 0 0 0 0
  Romania 6,371 6,366 6,515 6,929
  Russia 808,950 809,269 815,136 815,312
  Rwanda 317 287 265 276
  Saint Lucia 21 21 21 21
  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 28 29 29 29
  Samoa 176 171 166 162
  San Marino 1 1 1 1
  São Tomé and Príncipe 59 58 58 52
  Saudi Arabia 977 977 977 977
  Senegal 9,303 8,853 8,468 8,068
  Serbia 2,313 2,460 2,713 2,723
  Seychelles 34 34 34 34
  Sierra Leone 3,127 2,929 2,732 2,535
  Singapore 15 17 18 16
  Slovakia 1,902 1,901 1,918 1,926
  Slovenia 1,188 1,233 1,247 1,238
  Solomon Islands 2,545 2,538 2,530 2,523
  Somalia 8,283 7,515 6,748 5,980
  South Africa 18,142 17,778 17,414 17,050
  South Korea 6,912 6,455 6,242 6,030
  South Sudan 7,157 7,157 7,157 7,157
  Spain 13,905 17,094 18,545 18,572
  Sri Lanka 2,350 2,166 2,104 2,113
  Sudan 23,570 21,826 20,081 18,360
  Suriname 15,378 15,341 15,300 15,196
  Swaziland 461 473 485 498
  Sweden 28,063 28,163 28,073 27,980
   Switzerland 1,154 1,196 1,235 1,269
  Syria 372 432 492 522
  Tajikistan 408 410 410 424
  Tanzania 57,390 53,670 49,950 45,745
  Thailand 19,361 18,998 20,073 19,873
  Togo 1,362 1,268 1,239 1,209
  Tonga 9 9 9 9
  Trinidad and Tobago 242 237 232 228
  Tunisia 644 668 687 703
  Turkey (see: Forest in Turkey) 19,783 20,148 21,083 22,220
  Turkmenistan 4,127 4,127 4,127 4,127
  Tuvalu 1 1 1 1
  Uganda 3,575 3,163 2,750 2,338
  Ukraine 9,274 9,510 9,548 9,690
  United Arab Emirates 245 309 317 317
  United Kingdom 2,778 2,954 3,059 3,190
  United States 302,450 303,536 308,720 309,795
  United States Virgin Islands 25 20 18 20
  Uruguay 798 1,369 1,731 2,031
  Uzbekistan 2,549 2,961 3,350 3,690
  Vanuatu 442 442 442 442
  Venezuela 52,026 49,151 47,505 46,231
  Vietnam 9,376 11,784 13,388 14,643
  Yemen 549 549 549 549
  Zambia 47,412 47,054 46,696 44,814
  Zimbabwe 18,827 18,366 17,905 17,445

Share of national land which is forest edit

 
Share of each country's land covered by forest
 
This graph depicts trends in changes in global forest cover annually for various regions and sub-regions.

The percentage of each country's land which is forested was published by the Food and Agriculture Organization in 2020 and is expected to be updated in 2025 and every 5 years after that.[7] This data can be downloaded in bulk from Our World in Data.[8] Some countries have more recent statistics, for example the share of forest in Turkey is mentioned in that article.

See also edit

Sources edit

This article incorporates text from "Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 Key findings" (PDF). FAO. 2020. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. See c:File:Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 – Key findings.pdf. VRTS ticket # 2020073010003087.

  This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (license statement/permission). Text taken from The State of the World's Forests 2020. Forests, biodiversity and people – In brief​, FAO & UNEP, FAO & UNEP.


References edit

  1. ^ "Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020" (in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
  2. ^ a b "Indicators Overview | Forest Extent". Global Forest Watch. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
  3. ^ a b "Global Forest Review". World Resources Institute. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
  4. ^ "Global Forest Resources Assessments | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations". www.fao.org. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  5. ^ "Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 - Main Report" (PDF). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2020. p. 16. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  6. ^ "Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 - Main Report" (PDF). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2020. pp. 136–142. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  7. ^ "FRA platform". fra-data.fao.org. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
  8. ^ Ritchie, Hannah; Roser, Max (2024-01-15). "Forest area". Our World in Data.

External links edit

  • Global Forest Resources Assessment at FAO
  • Forest data at FAO