Annual change in forest area in India
India: Annual change in forest area was 86,000 hectares in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
86,000 hectares
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
6th
of 235 countries
All-time high
365,300 hectares
in 1991
All-time low
86,000 hectares
in 2021
Years of data
35
1991–2025
Annual change in forest area in India, 1991–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
India recorded 86,000 hectares for annual change in 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 in forest area in India peaked at 365,300 hectares in 1991 and was at its lowest, 86,000 hectares, 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 in forest area in India, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 365,300 hectares | — |
| 1992 | 365,300 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 365,300 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 365,300 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 365,300 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 365,300 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 365,300 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 365,300 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 365,300 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 365,300 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 190,500 hectares | -47.9% |
| 2002 | 190,500 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 190,500 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 190,500 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 190,500 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 190,500 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 190,500 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 190,500 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 190,500 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 190,500 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 266,400 hectares | +39.8% |
| 2012 | 266,400 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 266,400 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 266,400 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 266,400 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 296,200 hectares | +11.2% |
| 2017 | 296,200 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 296,200 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 296,200 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 296,200 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 86,000 hectares | -71.0% |
| 2022 | 86,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 86,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 86,000 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 86,000 hectares | +0.0% |
India compared with similar countries
- India's 86,000 hectares is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is -848 hectares. (47 countries reporting)
- India's 86,000 hectares is above the median for South Asia, which is -493.99 hectares. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 365,300 hectares | 365,300 hectares | 365,300 hectares | 9 |
| 2000s | 207,980 hectares | 190,500 hectares | 365,300 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 270,730 hectares | 190,500 hectares | 296,200 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 121,033 hectares | 86,000 hectares | 296,200 hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near India
More environment data for India
- 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)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 3.92 % 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 1.12 % 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 India?
- Annual change in forest area in India was 86,000 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 India?
- The highest recorded value was 365,300 hectares in 1991.
- What is the lowest annual change in forest area recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 86,000 hectares in 2021.
- How does India rank for annual change in forest area?
- India ranks 6th out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is annual change in 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 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.