Annual afforestation in China
China: Annual afforestation was 923,000 hectares per year in 2020. ▼ Falling
Annual afforestation in China, 1990–2020
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares per year.
Analysis
In 2020, annual afforestation in China stood at 923,000 hectares per year. That is the lowest value across all 5 years on record.
The figure is down 24.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual afforestation in China peaked at 1.57 million hectares per year in 2000 and was at its lowest, 923,000 hectares per year, in 2020.
China ranks 1st of 106 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
Annual afforestation in China, year by year
| Year | hectares per year | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 1.19 million hectares per year | — |
| 2000 | 1.57 million hectares per year | +32.7% |
| 2010 | 1.22 million hectares per year | -22.4% |
| 2015 | 1.03 million hectares per year | -16.0% |
| 2020 | 923,000 hectares per year | -10.0% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 923,000 hectares per year is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 320 hectares per year, 2884.4× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.19 million hectares per year | 1.19 million hectares per year | 1.19 million hectares per year | 1 |
| 2000s | 1.57 million hectares per year | 1.57 million hectares per year | 1.57 million hectares per year | 1 |
| 2010s | 1.12 million hectares per year | 1.03 million hectares per year | 1.22 million hectares per year | 2 |
| 2020s | 923,000 hectares per year | 923,000 hectares per year | 923,000 hectares per year | 1 |
Countries ranked near China
More environment data for China
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.279 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.92 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.8065 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate -0.2517 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), annual 0.9037 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual afforestation in China?
- Annual afforestation in China was 923,000 hectares per year in 2020, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual afforestation recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 1.57 million hectares per year in 2000.
- What is the lowest annual afforestation recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 923,000 hectares per year in 2020.
- How does China rank for annual afforestation?
- China ranks 1st out of 106 countries with data for 2020.
- Is annual afforestation rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is down 24.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Annual afforestation. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 5 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
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.