China, mainland vs Sub-Saharan Africa: Forest land — Area
Forest land — Area over time
- China, mainland
- Sub-Saharan Africa
How they compare
Sub-Saharan Africa currently reports 631,760 1000 ha against 227,153 1000 ha in China, mainland, a difference of 404,607 1000 ha.
That makes Sub-Saharan Africa's figure about 2.8 times China, mainland's.
Across all 36 years both countries report, Sub-Saharan Africa has been ahead every year.
China, mainland ranks 7th and Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 10th of 249 countries.
Sub-Saharan Africa has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China, mainland | Sub-Saharan Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 166,078 1000 ha | 721,454 1000 ha | 555,376 1000 ha | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 2000s | 187,625 1000 ha | 689,932 1000 ha | 502,307 1000 ha | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 2010s | 209,150 1000 ha | 661,202 1000 ha | 452,052 1000 ha | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 2020s | 223,126 1000 ha | 638,430 1000 ha | 415,304 1000 ha | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher forest land — area, China, mainland or Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Sub-Saharan Africa, at 631,760 1000 ha against 227,153 1000 ha in China, mainland as of 2025.
- What is the difference in forest land — area between China, mainland and Sub-Saharan Africa?
- 404,607 1000 ha, with Sub-Saharan Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China, mainland and Sub-Saharan Africa?
- 36 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2025.
- How do China, mainland and Sub-Saharan Africa rank globally for forest land — area?
- China, mainland ranks 7th and Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 10th of 249 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as Forest land — Area. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
The FAOSTAT Land Use domain contains data on twenty-one land use categories and twenty-three categories of irrigation and agricultural practices. Data are available yearly and by country, regional and global levels. The domain includes Land Use Indicators providing information on the percentage share of agricultural and forest land, and their sub-components, including irrigated areas and areas under organic agriculture, within a country land use matrix. Data are available at country, regional and global level, for the following elements: (in percentage) i) Share in Land area; ii) Share in Agricultural land, iii) Share in Cropland; and iv) Share in Forest land; (in ha/pc) v) Area per capita.