Annual change in forest area in Bhutan
Bhutan: Annual change in forest area was -8,484 hectares in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2025)
-8,484 hectares
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
192nd
of 235 countries
All-time high
9,929 hectares
in 2001
All-time low
-8,484 hectares
in 2021
Years of data
35
1991–2025
Annual change in forest area in Bhutan, 1991–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
In 2025, annual change in forest area in Bhutan stood at -8,484 hectares. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
The figure is down 528.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual change in forest area in Bhutan peaked at 9,929 hectares in 2001 and was at its lowest, -8,484 hectares, in 2021.
Bhutan ranks 192nd of 235 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Annual change in forest area in Bhutan, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 9,928 hectares | — |
| 1992 | 9,928 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 9,928 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 9,928 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 9,928 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 9,928 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 9,928 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 9,928 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 9,928 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 9,928 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 9,929 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 9,929 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 9,929 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 9,929 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 9,929 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 9,929 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 9,929 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 9,929 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 9,929 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 9,929 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 1,978 hectares | -80.1% |
| 2012 | 1,978 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 1,978 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 1,978 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 1,978 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 396 hectares | -80.0% |
| 2017 | 396 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 396 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 396 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 396 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2021 | -8,484 hectares | -2242.4% |
| 2022 | -8,484 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2023 | -8,484 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2024 | -8,484 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2025 | -8,484 hectares | -0.0% |
Bhutan compared with similar countries
- Bhutan's -8,484 hectares is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is -848 hectares, 10.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Bhutan's -8,484 hectares is below the median for South Asia, which is -493.99 hectares, 17.2× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 9,928 hectares | 9,928 hectares | 9,928 hectares | 9 |
| 2000s | 9,929 hectares | 9,928 hectares | 9,929 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 2,140 hectares | 396 hectares | 9,929 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | -7,004 hectares | -8,484 hectares | 396 hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Bhutan
More environment data for Bhutan
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 0.2782 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 0.5977 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.257 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.08 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.487 % 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 -5.53 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual change in forest area in Bhutan?
- Annual change in forest area in Bhutan was -8,484 hectares in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual change in forest area recorded in Bhutan?
- The highest recorded value was 9,929 hectares in 2001.
- What is the lowest annual change in forest area recorded in Bhutan?
- The lowest recorded value was -8,484 hectares in 2021.
- How does Bhutan rank for annual change in forest area?
- Bhutan ranks 192nd out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is annual change in forest area rising or falling in Bhutan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 528.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Bhutan 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 change in forest area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Net change in forest area measures forest expansion (the sum of afforestation and natural expansion) minus deforestation.