Annual change in forest area in Ireland
Ireland: Annual change in forest area was 7,906 hectares in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
7,906 hectares
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
31st
of 235 countries
All-time high
16,872 hectares
in 1991
All-time low
6,858 hectares
in 2011
Years of data
35
1991–2025
Annual change in forest area in Ireland, 1991–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Ireland recorded 7,906 hectares for annual change in forest area in 2025.
That represents a change of up 15.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual change in forest area in Ireland peaked at 16,872 hectares in 1991 and was at its lowest, 6,858 hectares, in 2011.
Ireland ranks 31st 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 Ireland, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 16,872 hectares | — |
| 1992 | 16,872 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 16,872 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 16,872 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 16,872 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 16,872 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 16,872 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 16,872 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 16,872 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 16,872 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 9,002 hectares | -46.6% |
| 2002 | 9,002 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 9,002 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 9,002 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 9,002 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 9,002 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 9,002 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 9,002 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 9,002 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 9,002 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 6,858 hectares | -23.8% |
| 2012 | 6,858 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 6,858 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 6,858 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 6,858 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 7,730 hectares | +12.7% |
| 2017 | 7,730 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 7,730 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 7,730 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 7,730 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 7,906 hectares | +2.3% |
| 2022 | 7,906 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 7,906 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 7,906 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 7,906 hectares | +0.0% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 7,906 hectares is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1,002 hectares, 7.9× the median. (56 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 16,872 hectares | 16,872 hectares | 16,872 hectares | 9 |
| 2000s | 9,789 hectares | 9,002 hectares | 16,872 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 7,421 hectares | 6,858 hectares | 9,002 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 7,877 hectares | 7,730 hectares | 7,906 hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
- 28 North Korea 11,356 hectares compare
- 29 Azerbaijan 10,494 hectares compare
- 30 Czechia 9,040 hectares compare
- 32 Dominican Republic 6,622 hectares compare
- 33 Latvia 6,566 hectares compare
- 34 Poland 6,160 hectares compare
More environment data for Ireland
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 2.51 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 2.17 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.412 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.89 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -1.13 % 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 -0.0083 % 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 Ireland?
- Annual change in forest area in Ireland was 7,906 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 Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 16,872 hectares in 1991.
- What is the lowest annual change in forest area recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 6,858 hectares in 2011.
- How does Ireland rank for annual change in forest area?
- Ireland ranks 31st out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is annual change in forest area rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ireland 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.