Annual afforestation by country
Afforestation is the establishment of forest through planting and/or deliberate seeding on land that, until then, was not classified as forest.
Countries reporting
74
Highest
923,000 hectares per year
China
Lowest
0 hectares per year
Bhutan
Median
2,000 hectares per year
Years covered
31
1990–2020
Data points
530
What the numbers show
Annual afforestation is currently reported for 74 countries. The highest value is 923,000 hectares per year in China; the lowest is 0 hectares per year in Bhutan.
The median across all reporting countries is 2,000 hectares per year, and the mean is 21,846 hectares per year.
Over the past decade 17 countries rose and 39 fell. The largest increase was in New Zealand (up 798.8%), and the largest decrease in Kuwait (down 100.0%).
Annual afforestation: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 923,000 hectares per year | 2020 | down 24.4% | falling |
| 2 | Russia | 167,910 hectares per year | 2020 | up 146.3% | volatile |
| 3 | Turkey | 83,300 hectares per year | 2020 | up 6.3% | rising |
| 4 | New Zealand | 71,900 hectares per year | 2020 | up 798.8% | volatile |
| 5 | Italy | 46,790 hectares per year | 2020 | up 1.8% | rising |
| 6 | Uzbekistan | 37,000 hectares per year | 2020 | up 19.4% | rising |
| 7 | Portugal | 30,430 hectares per year | 2020 | down 21.5% | rising |
| 8 | Kazakhstan | 22,200 hectares per year | 2020 | down 70.4% | volatile |
| 9 | Uruguay | 15,980 hectares per year | 2020 | down 36.1% | falling |
| 10 | Argentina | 15,800 hectares per year | 2020 | down 18.6% | volatile |
| 11 | Niger | 15,000 hectares per year | 2020 | up 100.0% | rising |
| 12 | Mali | 14,540 hectares per year | 2020 | down 79.7% | volatile |
| 13 | Congo | 14,000 hectares per year | 2020 | — | volatile |
| 14 | Cote d'Ivoire | 11,520 hectares per year | 2020 | down 61.5% | volatile |
| 15 | Venezuela | 10,810 hectares per year | 2020 | down 35.7% | volatile |
| 16 | Guatemala | 9,940 hectares per year | 2020 | up 132.8% | volatile |
| 17 | Uganda | 9,840 hectares per year | 2020 | unchanged | flat |
| 18 | Mauritania | 8,740 hectares per year | 2020 | unchanged | flat |
| 19 | Hungary | 8,460 hectares per year | 2020 | up 721.4% | volatile |
| 20 | Burkina Faso | 8,050 hectares per year | 2020 | down 16.1% | rising |
| 21 | Algeria | 8,000 hectares per year | 2020 | down 75.8% | falling |
| 22 | Netherlands | 7,290 hectares per year | 2020 | up 161.3% | rising |
| 23 | Togo | 7,000 hectares per year | 2020 | up 250.0% | volatile |
| 24 | Nicaragua | 6,740 hectares per year | 2020 | down 12.1% | volatile |
| 25 | Germany | 6,000 hectares per year | 2020 | down 25.1% | falling |
| 26 | Ireland | 5,660 hectares per year | 2020 | down 11.6% | volatile |
| 27 | Denmark | 4,260 hectares per year | 2020 | down 46.1% | volatile |
| 28 | Latvia | 4,040 hectares per year | 2020 | up 89.7% | volatile |
| 29 | Dominican Republic | 3,510 hectares per year | 2020 | down 56.0% | volatile |
| 30 | Mexico | 3,300 hectares per year | 2020 | down 6.0% | rising |
| 31 | Ukraine | 3,000 hectares per year | 2020 | down 79.3% | volatile |
| 32 | Spain | 2,800 hectares per year | 2020 | down 47.2% | volatile |
| 33 | Morocco | 2,470 hectares per year | 2020 | up 268.7% | volatile |
| 34 | Panama | 2,420 hectares per year | 2020 | up 120.0% | falling |
| 35 | Senegal | 2,360 hectares per year | 2020 | unchanged | rising |
| 36 | Belarus | 2,010 hectares per year | 2020 | down 28.7% | volatile |
| 37 | Honduras | 2,000 hectares per year | 2020 | down 24.2% | volatile |
| 37 | Cameroon | 2,000 hectares per year | 2020 | unchanged | rising |
| 39 | Norway | 1,920 hectares per year | 2020 | up 13.6% | falling |
| 40 | Czechia | 1,730 hectares per year | 2020 | up 69.6% | rising |
| 41 | Tunisia | 1,580 hectares per year | 2020 | down 46.4% | volatile |
| 42 | Saudi Arabia | 1,500 hectares per year | 2020 | — | volatile |
| 43 | Canada | 1,430 hectares per year | 2020 | up 12.6% | volatile |
| 44 | Chile | 1,040 hectares per year | 2020 | down 90.7% | volatile |
| 45 | Guinea | 1,000 hectares per year | 2020 | down 52.6% | falling |
| 46 | Estonia | 970 hectares per year | 2020 | down 89.4% | volatile |
| 47 | Iceland | 920 hectares per year | 2020 | up 7.0% | falling |
| 48 | Cape Verde | 610 hectares per year | 2020 | unchanged | volatile |
| 48 | Democratic Republic of Congo | 610 hectares per year | 2020 | down 67.0% | volatile |
| 50 | Austria | 490 hectares per year | 2020 | unchanged | volatile |
| 51 | Romania | 480 hectares per year | 2020 | down 56.4% | volatile |
| 51 | Bahrain | 480 hectares per year | 2020 | — | volatile |
| 53 | Bulgaria | 370 hectares per year | 2020 | down 7.5% | volatile |
| 54 | Cuba | 320 hectares per year | 2020 | down 98.8% | volatile |
| 55 | Gabon | 310 hectares per year | 2020 | down 64.4% | volatile |
| 56 | Chad | 300 hectares per year | 2020 | unchanged | flat |
| 57 | Colombia | 140 hectares per year | 2020 | down 98.5% | volatile |
| 58 | Comoros | 100 hectares per year | 2020 | — | volatile |
| 59 | Croatia | 80 hectares per year | 2020 | down 57.9% | volatile |
| 60 | Djibouti | 50 hectares per year | 2020 | unchanged | volatile |
| 61 | Egypt | 30 hectares per year | 2020 | — | volatile |
| 61 | Cyprus | 30 hectares per year | 2020 | down 72.7% | volatile |
| 63 | Switzerland | 20 hectares per year | 2020 | — | volatile |
| 64 | Jamaica | 10 hectares per year | 2020 | unchanged | rising |
| 64 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 10 hectares per year | 2020 | down 66.7% | volatile |
| 64 | Saint Pierre and Miquelon | 10 hectares per year | 2020 | — | volatile |
| 67 | Kuwait | 0 hectares per year | 2020 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 67 | Slovakia | 0 hectares per year | 2020 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 67 | Sweden | 0 hectares per year | 2020 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 67 | Georgia | 0 hectares per year | 2020 | — | volatile |
| 67 | Finland | 0 hectares per year | 2020 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 67 | Ecuador | 0 hectares per year | 2020 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 67 | Costa Rica | 0 hectares per year | 2020 | — | volatile |
| 67 | Bhutan | 0 hectares per year | 2020 | down 100.0% | volatile |
About this data
Afforestation is the establishment of forest through planting and/or deliberate seeding on land that, until then, was not classified as forest.