Annual change in forest area in Iceland
Iceland: Annual change in forest area was 964 hectares in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
964 hectares
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
56th
of 235 countries
All-time high
1,652 hectares
in 2001
All-time low
686 hectares
in 2016
Years of data
35
1991–2025
Annual change in forest area in Iceland, 1991–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Iceland recorded 964 hectares for annual change in forest area in 2025.
That represents a change of up 7.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual change in forest area in Iceland peaked at 1,652 hectares in 2001 and was at its lowest, 686 hectares, in 2016.
Iceland ranks 56th of 235 countries on this measure, 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 Iceland, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 1,429 hectares | — |
| 1992 | 1,429 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 1,429 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 1,429 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 1,429 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 1,429 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 1,429 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 1,429 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 1,429 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 1,429 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 1,652 hectares | +15.6% |
| 2002 | 1,652 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 1,652 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 1,652 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 1,652 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 1,652 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 1,652 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 1,652 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 1,652 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 1,652 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 898 hectares | -45.6% |
| 2012 | 898 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 898 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 898 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 898 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 686 hectares | -23.6% |
| 2017 | 686 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 686 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 686 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 686 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 964 hectares | +40.5% |
| 2022 | 964 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 964 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 964 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 964 hectares | +0.0% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 964 hectares is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1,002 hectares, 96% of the median. (56 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1,429 hectares | 1,429 hectares | 1,429 hectares | 9 |
| 2000s | 1,630 hectares | 1,429 hectares | 1,652 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 888.6 hectares | 686 hectares | 1,652 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 917.67 hectares | 686 hectares | 964 hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
- 53 Haiti 1,400 hectares compare
- 54 Croatia 1,320 hectares compare
- 55 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1,040 hectares compare
- 57 El Salvador 836.01 hectares compare
- 58 Cape Verde 620 hectares compare
- 59 Estonia 575.98 hectares compare
More environment data for Iceland
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 3.89 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.587 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.47 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.8549 % 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 -1.93 % 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual change in forest area in Iceland?
- Annual change in forest area in Iceland was 964 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 Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 1,652 hectares in 2001.
- What is the lowest annual change in forest area recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 686 hectares in 2016.
- How does Iceland rank for annual change in forest area?
- Iceland ranks 56th out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is annual change in forest area rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Iceland 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.