China vs Russia: Annual change in forest area
China
1.61 million hectares
in 2025
Russia
839,550 hectares
in 2025
China rank
1st
Russia rank
2nd
Annual change in forest area over time
- China
- Russia
How they compare
China currently reports 1.61 million hectares against 839,550 hectares in Russia, a difference of 771,450 hectares.
That makes China's figure about 1.9 times Russia's.
Across all 35 years both countries report, China has been ahead every year.
China ranks 1st and Russia ranks 2nd of 235 countries.
China has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | Russia | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.99 million hectares | 80,406 hectares | 1.91 million hectares | China |
| 2000s | 2.32 million hectares | 823,131 hectares | 1.50 million hectares | China |
| 2010s | 1.91 million hectares | 679,071 hectares | 1.23 million hectares | China |
| 2020s | 1.64 million hectares | 873,825 hectares | 762,133 hectares | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher annual change in forest area, China or Russia?
- China, at 1.61 million hectares against 839,550 hectares in Russia as of 2025.
- What is the difference in annual change in forest area between China and Russia?
- 771,450 hectares, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and Russia?
- 35 years are reported by both, from 1991 to 2025.
- How do China and Russia rank globally for annual change in forest area?
- China ranks 1st and Russia ranks 2nd of 235 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Annual change in forest area. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Net change in forest area measures forest expansion (the sum of afforestation and natural expansion) minus deforestation.