Australia vs China: Share of global forest area
Australia
3.2%
in 2025
China
5.5%
in 2025
Australia rank
7th
China rank
5th
Share of global forest area over time
- Australia
- China
How they compare
China currently reports 5.5% against 3.2% in Australia, a difference of 2.3%.
That makes China's figure about 1.7 times Australia's.
Across all 36 years both countries report, China has been ahead every year.
Australia ranks 7th and China ranks 5th of 235 countries.
China has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Australia | China | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3.1% | 3.9% | 0.8% | China |
| 2000s | 3.1% | 4.4% | 1.3% | China |
| 2010s | 3.2% | 5.0% | 1.8% | China |
| 2020s | 3.2% | 5.4% | 2.2% | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of global forest area, Australia or China?
- China, at 5.5% against 3.2% in Australia as of 2025.
- What is the difference in share of global forest area between Australia and China?
- 2.3%, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and China?
- 36 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2025.
- How do Australia and China rank globally for share of global forest area?
- Australia ranks 7th and China ranks 5th 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 Share of global forest area. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Share of global forest area represents the proportion of a country's forest area relative to the total global forest area.