Annual change in forest area in Nepal
Nepal: Annual change in forest area was 16,580 hectares in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
16,580 hectares
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
21st
of 235 countries
All-time high
16,741 hectares
in 1991
All-time low
3,504 hectares
in 2011
Years of data
35
1991–2025
Annual change in forest area in Nepal, 1991–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
The most recent figure for annual change in forest area in Nepal is 16,580 hectares, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of up 373.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual change in forest area in Nepal peaked at 16,741 hectares in 1991 and was at its lowest, 3,504 hectares, in 2011.
That places Nepal 21st out of 235 countries with data for 2025, putting it 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 Nepal, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 16,741 hectares | — |
| 1992 | 16,741 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 16,741 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 16,741 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 16,741 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 16,741 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 16,741 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 16,741 hectares | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 16,741 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 16,741 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 16,741 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 16,741 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 16,741 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 16,741 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 16,741 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 16,741 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 16,741 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 16,741 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 16,741 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 16,741 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 3,504 hectares | -79.1% |
| 2012 | 3,504 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 3,504 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 3,504 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 3,504 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 16,580 hectares | +373.2% |
| 2017 | 16,580 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 16,580 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 16,580 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 16,580 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 16,580 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 16,580 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 16,580 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 16,580 hectares | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 16,580 hectares | +0.0% |
Nepal compared with similar countries
- Nepal's 16,580 hectares is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is -848 hectares. (47 countries reporting)
- Nepal's 16,580 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 | 16,741 hectares | 16,741 hectares | 16,741 hectares | 9 |
| 2000s | 16,741 hectares | 16,741 hectares | 16,741 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 10,058 hectares | 3,504 hectares | 16,741 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 16,580 hectares | 16,580 hectares | 16,580 hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Nepal
More environment data for Nepal
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 2.73 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 2.41 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.265 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.43 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -1.54 % 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 -6.53 % 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 Nepal?
- Annual change in forest area in Nepal was 16,580 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 Nepal?
- The highest recorded value was 16,741 hectares in 1991.
- What is the lowest annual change in forest area recorded in Nepal?
- The lowest recorded value was 3,504 hectares in 2011.
- How does Nepal rank for annual change in forest area?
- Nepal ranks 21st out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is annual change in forest area rising or falling in Nepal?
- Over the last ten years it is up 373.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nepal 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.