Annual change in forest area in Germany
Germany: Annual change in forest area was 4,800 hectares in 2025. ▼ Falling
Annual change in forest area in Germany, 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 Germany stood at 4,800 hectares. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
The figure is down 1.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual change in forest area in Germany peaked at 5,500 hectares in 2001 and was at its lowest, 4,800 hectares, in 2016.
That places Germany 38th out of 235 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Annual change in forest area in Germany, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 5,400 hectares | — |
| 1992 | 5,400 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 5,400 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 5,400 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 5,400 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 5,400 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 5,400 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 5,400 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 5,400 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 5,400 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 5,500 hectares | +1.9% |
| 2002 | 5,500 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 5,500 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 5,500 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 5,500 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 5,500 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 5,500 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 5,500 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 5,500 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 5,500 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 4,880 hectares | -11.3% |
| 2012 | 4,880 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 4,880 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 4,880 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 4,880 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 4,800 hectares | -1.6% |
| 2017 | 4,800 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 4,800 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 4,800 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 4,800 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 4,800 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 4,800 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 4,800 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 4,800 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 4,800 hectares | +0.0% |
Germany compared with similar countries
- Germany's 4,800 hectares is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1,002 hectares, 4.8× the median. (56 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 5,400 hectares | 5,400 hectares | 5,400 hectares | 9 |
| 2000s | 5,490 hectares | 5,400 hectares | 5,500 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 4,910 hectares | 4,800 hectares | 5,500 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 4,800 hectares | 4,800 hectares | 4,800 hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Germany
More environment data for Germany
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.12 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -4.36 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.613 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.11 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -1.65 % 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 -0.0079 % 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 Germany?
- Annual change in forest area in Germany was 4,800 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 Germany?
- The highest recorded value was 5,500 hectares in 2001.
- What is the lowest annual change in forest area recorded in Germany?
- The lowest recorded value was 4,800 hectares in 2016.
- How does Germany rank for annual change in forest area?
- Germany ranks 38th out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is annual change in forest area rising or falling in Germany?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Germany 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.