Africa vs Melanesia: Primary Forest — Area

Africa
163,436 1000 ha
in 2025
Melanesia
21,424 1000 ha
in 2025
Africa rank
9th
Melanesia rank
10th

Primary Forest — Area over time

  • Africa
  • Melanesia
050.0k100.0k150.0k200.0k199020072025

How they compare

Africa currently reports 163,436 1000 ha against 21,424 1000 ha in Melanesia, a difference of 142,012 1000 ha.

That makes Africa's figure about 7.6 times Melanesia's.

Across all 36 years both countries report, Africa has been ahead every year.

Africa ranks 9th and Melanesia ranks 10th of 35 groups.

Africa has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Africa Melanesia Difference Ahead
1990s 187,978 1000 ha 21,992 1000 ha 165,986 1000 ha Africa
2000s 179,764 1000 ha 21,825 1000 ha 157,938 1000 ha Africa
2010s 170,117 1000 ha 21,653 1000 ha 148,464 1000 ha Africa
2020s 164,786 1000 ha 21,481 1000 ha 143,305 1000 ha Africa

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher primary forest — area, Africa or Melanesia?
Africa, at 163,436 1000 ha against 21,424 1000 ha in Melanesia as of 2025.
What is the difference in primary forest — area between Africa and Melanesia?
142,012 1000 ha, with Africa ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Africa and Melanesia?
36 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2025.
How do Africa and Melanesia rank globally for primary forest — area?
Africa ranks 9th and Melanesia ranks 10th of 35 groups.
Where does this data come from?
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as Primary Forest — Area. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Primary Forest — Area
Unit
1000 ha
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
204 places, 7,156 data points, 1990–2025
Last refreshed

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.