Annual change forest area in India
India: Annual change forest area was 86,000 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
86,000
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
6th
of 235 countries
All-time high
365,300
in 1991
All-time low
86,000
in 2021
Years of data
35
1991–2025
Annual change forest area in India, 1991–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
India recorded 86,000 for annual change forest area in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
That represents a change of down 67.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual change forest area in India peaked at 365,300 in 1991 and was at its lowest, 86,000, in 2021.
India ranks 6th of 235 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Annual change forest area in India, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 365,300 | — |
| 1992 | 365,300 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 365,300 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 365,300 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 365,300 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 365,300 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 365,300 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 365,300 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 365,300 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 365,300 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 190,500 | -47.9% |
| 2002 | 190,500 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 190,500 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 190,500 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 190,500 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 190,500 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 190,500 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 190,500 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 190,500 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 190,500 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 266,400 | +39.8% |
| 2012 | 266,400 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 266,400 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 266,400 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 266,400 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 296,200 | +11.2% |
| 2017 | 296,200 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 296,200 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 296,200 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 296,200 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 86,000 | -71.0% |
| 2022 | 86,000 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 86,000 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 86,000 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 86,000 | +0.0% |
India compared with similar countries
- India's 86,000 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is -848. (47 countries reporting)
- India's 86,000 is above the median for South Asia, which is -493.99. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 365,300 | 365,300 | 365,300 | 9 |
| 2000s | 207,980 | 190,500 | 365,300 | 10 |
| 2010s | 270,730 | 190,500 | 296,200 | 10 |
| 2020s | 121,033 | 86,000 | 296,200 | 6 |
Countries ranked near India
More environment data for India
- Grazing land use over the long-term, annual growth rate 0.3669 % change on previous year (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per capita 0.0072 hectares per person (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 11.05 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 12.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.254 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.954 °C (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per square kilometre 3.51 hectares per square kilometre (2024)
- Sawnwood, coniferous — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual change forest area in India?
- Annual change forest area in India was 86,000 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual change forest area recorded in India?
- The highest recorded value was 365,300 in 1991.
- What is the lowest annual change forest area recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 86,000 in 2021.
- How does India rank for annual change forest area?
- India ranks 6th out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is annual change forest area rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is down 67.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this India data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Annual change 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).