Norway vs Switzerland: Annual forest expansion
Norway
4,620 hectares per year
in 2020
Switzerland
2,880 hectares per year
in 2020
Norway rank
48th
Switzerland rank
51st
Annual forest expansion over time
- Norway
- Switzerland
How they compare
Norway currently reports 4,620 hectares per year against 2,880 hectares per year in Switzerland, a difference of 1,740 hectares per year.
That makes Norway's figure about 1.6 times Switzerland's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 5 shared years of data; in 1990 it was Switzerland ahead.
Norway ranks 48th and Switzerland ranks 51st of 110 countries.
Across the 4 decades both report, Norway averaged higher in 2 and Switzerland in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Norway | Switzerland | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 2,850 hectares per year | 5,970 hectares per year | 3,120 hectares per year | Switzerland |
| 2000s | 1,650 hectares per year | 6,510 hectares per year | 4,860 hectares per year | Switzerland |
| 2010s | 4,115 hectares per year | 3,810 hectares per year | 305 hectares per year | Norway |
| 2020s | 4,620 hectares per year | 2,880 hectares per year | 1,740 hectares per year | Norway |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher annual forest expansion, Norway or Switzerland?
- Norway, at 4,620 hectares per year against 2,880 hectares per year in Switzerland as of 2020.
- What is the difference in annual forest expansion between Norway and Switzerland?
- 1,740 hectares per year, with Norway ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Norway and Switzerland?
- 5 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2020.
- How do Norway and Switzerland rank globally for annual forest expansion?
- Norway ranks 48th and Switzerland ranks 51st 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).