Iceland vs Saudi Arabia: Annual forest expansion
Iceland
960 hectares per year
in 2020
Saudi Arabia
1,500 hectares per year
in 2020
Iceland rank
62nd
Saudi Arabia rank
59th
Annual forest expansion over time
- Iceland
- Saudi Arabia
How they compare
Saudi Arabia currently reports 1,500 hectares per year against 960 hectares per year in Iceland, a difference of 540 hectares per year.
That makes Saudi Arabia's figure about 1.6 times Iceland's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 5 shared years of data; in 1990 it was Iceland ahead.
Iceland ranks 62nd and Saudi Arabia ranks 59th of 110 countries.
Across the 4 decades both report, Iceland averaged higher in 3 and Saudi Arabia in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Iceland | Saudi Arabia | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1,430 hectares per year | 0 hectares per year | 1,430 hectares per year | Iceland |
| 2000s | 1,650 hectares per year | 0 hectares per year | 1,650 hectares per year | Iceland |
| 2010s | 795 hectares per year | 0 hectares per year | 795 hectares per year | Iceland |
| 2020s | 960 hectares per year | 1,500 hectares per year | 540 hectares per year | Saudi Arabia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher annual forest expansion, Iceland or Saudi Arabia?
- Saudi Arabia, at 1,500 hectares per year against 960 hectares per year in Iceland as of 2020.
- What is the difference in annual forest expansion between Iceland and Saudi Arabia?
- 540 hectares per year, with Saudi Arabia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Iceland and Saudi Arabia?
- 5 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2020.
- How do Iceland and Saudi Arabia rank globally for annual forest expansion?
- Iceland ranks 62nd and Saudi Arabia ranks 59th of 110 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 forest expansion. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Forest expansion is the sum of afforestation (the establishment of forest through planting and/or deliberate seeding) and natural forest expansion (expansion of forests through natural succession on land that, until then, was under another land use).