15.4.2a Mountain green cover area: Montane; Land Cover: Terrestrial barren land — Value by country
As the custodian agency of 22 SDG indicators, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is responsible for curating and refining the methodologies of these indicators, collecting data from national sources, ensuring their quality and compatibility with applicable standards and...
What the numbers show
15.4.2a Mountain green cover area: Montane; Land Cover: Terrestrial barren land — Value is currently reported for 81 countries. The highest value is 414,624 km2 in China, mainland; the lowest is 0 km2 in Cyprus.
The median across all reporting countries is 65 km2, and the mean is 8,648 km2.
Over the past decade 40 countries rose and 27 fell. The largest increase was in Australia (up 272.7%), and the largest decrease in Myanmar (down 79.2%).
15.4.2a Mountain green cover area: Montane; Land Cover: Terrestrial: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China, mainland | 414,624 km2 | 2021 | down 0.3% | flat |
| 2 | Chile | 81,331 km2 | 2021 | up 0.2% | flat |
| 3 | Mongolia | 81,210 km2 | 2021 | down 0.0% | flat |
| 4 | Afghanistan | 48,801 km2 | 2021 | up 0.0% | flat |
| 5 | Tajikistan | 17,924 km2 | 2021 | down 0.1% | flat |
| 6 | Pakistan | 10,555 km2 | 2021 | up 0.2% | flat |
| 6 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 0.4 km2 | 2021 | — | volatile |
| 7 | Morocco | 7,227 km2 | 2021 | up 0.1% | flat |
| 8 | South Africa | 5,464 km2 | 2021 | down 4.9% | flat |
| 9 | Kyrgyzstan | 5,375 km2 | 2021 | up 0.4% | flat |
| 10 | Namibia | 4,662 km2 | 2021 | up 0.7% | flat |
| 11 | Peru | 4,062 km2 | 2021 | up 0.1% | flat |
| 12 | India | 2,912 km2 | 2021 | up 11.3% | rising |
| 13 | Algeria | 2,274 km2 | 2021 | up 4.6% | flat |
| 14 | Chad | 2,014 km2 | 2021 | up 0.1% | flat |
| 15 | Italy | 1,734 km2 | 2021 | up 0.2% | flat |
| 16 | France | 1,623 km2 | 2021 | down 0.9% | flat |
| 17 | Spain | 1,547 km2 | 2021 | down 2.4% | flat |
| 18 | Egypt | 1,378 km2 | 2021 | down 0.1% | flat |
| 19 | Jordan | 642.2 km2 | 2021 | down 1.5% | flat |
| 20 | Austria | 631 km2 | 2021 | down 0.3% | flat |
| 21 | Yemen | 525.3 km2 | 2021 | down 0.6% | flat |
| 22 | Nepal | 412.3 km2 | 2021 | up 18.1% | rising |
| 23 | Switzerland | 382.4 km2 | 2021 | down 6.5% | falling |
| 24 | Greece | 320.6 km2 | 2021 | up 7.4% | rising |
| 25 | Albania | 273.6 km2 | 2021 | up 19.1% | rising |
| 26 | Sweden | 260.4 km2 | 2021 | up 0.4% | rising |
| 27 | Réunion | 256 km2 | 2021 | down 0.9% | flat |
| 28 | Finland | 183.8 km2 | 2021 | up 46.2% | volatile |
| 29 | Montenegro | 164.1 km2 | 2021 | down 0.3% | rising |
| 30 | Russian Federation | 156.4 km2 | 2021 | up 13.0% | flat |
| 31 | Slovenia | 140 km2 | 2021 | down 1.3% | flat |
| 32 | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 127.5 km2 | 2021 | up 0.5% | volatile |
| 33 | Turkmenistan | 126.9 km2 | 2021 | up 29.0% | rising |
| 34 | Kazakhstan | 114.7 km2 | 2021 | down 3.0% | flat |
| 35 | Romania | 113.9 km2 | 2021 | up 14.5% | rising |
| 36 | Iceland | 99.3 km2 | 2021 | up 4.0% | rising |
| 37 | Saudi Arabia | 96.5 km2 | 2021 | down 0.1% | flat |
| 38 | Australia and New Zealand | 83.5 km2 | 2021 | up 177.4% | rising |
| 39 | Lebanon | 78.3 km2 | 2021 | down 0.3% | flat |
| 40 | New Zealand | 75.4 km2 | 2021 | up 170.3% | rising |
| 41 | Uzbekistan | 65 km2 | 2021 | up 15.5% | rising |
| 42 | Bulgaria | 62.2 km2 | 2021 | down 0.8% | flat |
| 43 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 60.3 km2 | 2021 | down 5.6% | flat |
| 44 | Bhutan | 41.5 km2 | 2021 | down 11.7% | rising |
| 45 | Georgia | 37.6 km2 | 2021 | up 68.6% | rising |
| 46 | Oman | 31.3 km2 | 2021 | down 0.6% | flat |
| 47 | Ireland | 28.4 km2 | 2021 | up 11.4% | rising |
| 48 | Azerbaijan | 21 km2 | 2021 | up 42.9% | rising |
| 49 | Ascension, Saint Helena and Tristan da Cunha | 18.1 km2 | 2021 | unchanged | flat |
| 50 | Portugal | 15.6 km2 | 2021 | down 9.8% | volatile |
| 51 | Myanmar | 13.1 km2 | 2021 | down 79.2% | falling |
| 52 | Mexico | 10.4 km2 | 2021 | up 50.7% | rising |
| 53 | Japan | 9.5 km2 | 2021 | up 4.4% | falling |
| 54 | Australia | 8.2 km2 | 2021 | up 272.7% | volatile |
| 55 | Serbia | 8 km2 | 2021 | up 3.9% | falling |
| 56 | North Macedonia | 7 km2 | 2021 | down 1.4% | rising |
| 57 | Armenia | 5.4 km2 | 2021 | up 42.1% | rising |
| 58 | Colombia | 4.3 km2 | 2021 | up 34.4% | rising |
| 59 | Iraq | 3.9 km2 | 2021 | up 14.7% | rising |
| 60 | Slovakia | 3 km2 | 2021 | unchanged | flat |
| 61 | Poland | 2.9 km2 | 2021 | down 19.4% | falling |
| 62 | Indonesia | 2.4 km2 | 2021 | up 84.6% | rising |
| 63 | Lesotho | 1.8 km2 | 2021 | up 260.0% | volatile |
| 64 | Croatia | 1.7 km2 | 2021 | up 41.7% | volatile |
| 65 | Ecuador | 1.5 km2 | 2021 | down 6.2% | flat |
| 66 | Czechia | 1.3 km2 | 2021 | up 8.3% | rising |
| 67 | Liechtenstein | 1.1 km2 | 2021 | up 57.1% | falling |
| 68 | Ethiopia | 0.5 km2 | 2021 | unchanged | falling |
| 69 | Ukraine | 0.3 km2 | 2021 | up 200.0% | rising |
| 70 | Malaysia | 0.2 km2 | 2021 | unchanged | flat |
| 70 | Tunisia | 0.2 km2 | 2021 | unchanged | flat |
| 70 | Republic of Korea | 0.2 km2 | 2021 | down 66.7% | volatile |
| 73 | Andorra | 0.1 km2 | 2021 | unchanged | flat |
| 73 | Equatorial Guinea | 0.1 km2 | 2021 | unchanged | flat |
| 73 | Kenya | 0.1 km2 | 2021 | unchanged | flat |
| 73 | Mozambique | 0.1 km2 | 2021 | — | volatile |
| 73 | Papua New Guinea | 0.1 km2 | 2021 | unchanged | falling |
| 73 | Zimbabwe | 0.1 km2 | 2021 | — | volatile |
| 79 | Cameroon | 0 km2 | 2021 | — | volatile |
| 79 | Cyprus | 0 km2 | 2021 | — | volatile |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- World 864,095 km2
- Iran (Islamic Republic of) 57,528 km2
- Eastern Asia and South-eastern Asia 495,860 km2
- Least Developed Countries (LDCs) 51,769 km2
- Eastern Asia 495,844 km2
- Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 19,682 km2
- Land Locked Developing Countries (LLDCs) 175,802 km2
- Syrian Arab Republic 1,619 km2
- Latin America and the Caribbean 156,470 km2
- Democratic People's Republic of Korea 1.1 km2
- Central Asia and Southern Asia 143,856 km2
- Southern Asia 120,251 km2
- Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) 0.3 km2
- Western Asia and Northern Africa 30,066 km2
- United Republic of Tanzania 0.2 km2
- Northern America and Europe 25,342 km2
- Small island developing states (SIDS) 0.1 km2
- Central Asia 23,605 km2
- Western Asia 19,186 km2
- Northern America 15,560 km2
- United States of America 12,519 km2
- Sub-Saharan Africa 12,418 km2
- Northern Africa 10,879 km2
- Europe 9,782 km2
- Oceania 83.6 km2
- South-Eastern Asia 15.7 km2
- Oceania excluding Australia and New Zealand 0.1 km2
About this data
As the custodian agency of 22 SDG indicators, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is responsible for curating and refining the methodologies of these indicators, collecting data from national sources, ensuring their quality and compatibility with applicable standards and classifications, and disseminating data at global level. This FAOSTAT domain complements the global SDG database administered by the United Nations Statistical Division (UNSD), as well as FAO’s SDG indicators portal, by providing access to the available data for all SDG Indicators under FAO custodianship. While this metadata page provides summary information on all SDG indicators data disseminated through FAOSTAT, indicator-specific metadata can be accessed from the link on the right hand navigation column. This additional metadata file provides details on the methodology used to compile each indicators, their data sources and the contact information of the relevant FAO focal point. It includes the links to the official SDG Indicator metadata documents accessible from the UNSD global SDG database.SDG Indicators under FAO custodianship, consisting of 22 indicators and 66 series that fall under six goals: • Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.• Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.• Goal 6: Clean water and sanitation: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.• Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production.• Goal 14: Life below water: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources.• Goal 15: Life on land: Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss.