Annual afforestation in Ireland
Ireland: Annual afforestation was 5,660 hectares per year in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Annual afforestation in Ireland, 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
The most recent figure for annual afforestation in Ireland is 5,660 hectares per year, measured in 2020.
The figure is down 11.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual afforestation in Ireland peaked at 16,880 hectares per year in 1990 and was at its lowest, 4,410 hectares per year, in 2015.
Ireland ranks 26th of 106 regions on this measure, in the top quarter.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 16,880 hectares per year | 16,880 hectares per year | 16,880 hectares per year | 1 |
| 2000s | 10,120 hectares per year | 10,120 hectares per year | 10,120 hectares per year | 1 |
| 2010s | 5,405 hectares per year | 4,410 hectares per year | 6,400 hectares per year | 2 |
| 2020s | 5,660 hectares per year | 5,660 hectares per year | 5,660 hectares per year | 1 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
More environment data for Ireland
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 59.68 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 11.06 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 15.58 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.0879 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 1.23 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0115 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 18.11 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0209 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0087 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 1.16 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual afforestation in Ireland?
- Annual afforestation in Ireland was 5,660 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 Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 16,880 hectares per year in 1990.
- What is the lowest annual afforestation recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 4,410 hectares per year in 2015.
- How does Ireland rank for annual afforestation?
- Ireland ranks 26th out of 106 regions with data for 2020.
- Is annual afforestation rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 11.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Ireland 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.