Annual forest expansion by country
Forest expansion is the sum of afforestation (the establishment of forest through planting and/or deliberate seeding) and natural forest expansion (expansion of forests through natural succession on land that, until then, was under another land use).
Countries reporting
81
Highest
1.89 million hectares per year
China
Lowest
0 hectares per year
Mauritius
Median
6,740 hectares per year
Years covered
31
1990–2020
Data points
550
What the numbers show
Annual forest expansion is currently reported for 81 countries. The highest value is 1.89 million hectares per year in China; the lowest is 0 hectares per year in Mauritius.
The median across all reporting countries is 6,740 hectares per year, and the mean is 65,145 hectares per year.
Over the past decade 24 countries rose and 41 fell. The largest increase was in New Zealand (up 834.4%), and the largest decrease in Finland (down 100.0%).
Annual forest expansion: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 1.89 million hectares per year | 2020 | down 16.8% | falling |
| 2 | Russia | 839,550 hectares per year | 2020 | up 146.3% | volatile |
| 3 | United States | 815,360 hectares per year | 2020 | up 196.5% | volatile |
| 4 | India | 674,000 hectares per year | 2020 | down 27.9% | flat |
| 5 | Turkey | 117,500 hectares per year | 2020 | up 4.9% | rising |
| 6 | Sudan | 89,860 hectares per year | 2020 | down 8.7% | falling |
| 7 | New Zealand | 77,650 hectares per year | 2020 | up 834.4% | volatile |
| 8 | Paraguay | 53,910 hectares per year | 2020 | — | volatile |
| 9 | Italy | 48,920 hectares per year | 2020 | up 1.8% | rising |
| 10 | Guatemala | 47,910 hectares per year | 2020 | down 50.4% | volatile |
| 11 | Uzbekistan | 45,000 hectares per year | 2020 | up 7.1% | falling |
| 12 | Portugal | 42,050 hectares per year | 2020 | down 18.6% | rising |
| 13 | Canada | 40,700 hectares per year | 2020 | down 92.7% | volatile |
| 14 | Mexico | 38,050 hectares per year | 2020 | down 3.4% | volatile |
| 15 | Kazakhstan | 35,800 hectares per year | 2020 | down 52.3% | rising |
| 16 | Spain | 34,400 hectares per year | 2020 | up 802.9% | volatile |
| 17 | Ethiopia | 34,280 hectares per year | 2020 | up 55.8% | rising |
| 18 | Dominican Republic | 31,240 hectares per year | 2020 | up 63.4% | rising |
| 19 | Honduras | 20,640 hectares per year | 2020 | down 10.1% | rising |
| 20 | Uruguay | 18,370 hectares per year | 2020 | down 33.7% | falling |
| 21 | Argentina | 15,800 hectares per year | 2020 | down 18.6% | volatile |
| 22 | Niger | 15,000 hectares per year | 2020 | up 100.0% | rising |
| 23 | Mali | 14,540 hectares per year | 2020 | down 79.7% | volatile |
| 24 | Congo | 14,000 hectares per year | 2020 | — | volatile |
| 25 | United Kingdom | 13,400 hectares per year | 2020 | up 19.6% | falling |
| 26 | Bulgaria | 12,600 hectares per year | 2020 | down 34.4% | volatile |
| 27 | Czechia | 11,680 hectares per year | 2020 | up 247.6% | volatile |
| 28 | Cote d'Ivoire | 11,520 hectares per year | 2020 | down 61.5% | volatile |
| 29 | Venezuela | 10,810 hectares per year | 2020 | down 35.7% | volatile |
| 30 | Uganda | 9,840 hectares per year | 2020 | unchanged | flat |
| 31 | Hungary | 9,030 hectares per year | 2020 | up 88.5% | volatile |
| 32 | Burkina Faso | 8,050 hectares per year | 2020 | down 16.1% | rising |
| 33 | Costa Rica | 8,020 hectares per year | 2020 | down 67.6% | volatile |
| 34 | Algeria | 8,000 hectares per year | 2020 | down 75.8% | falling |
| 34 | Germany | 8,000 hectares per year | 2020 | down 25.1% | falling |
| 36 | Austria | 7,950 hectares per year | 2020 | unchanged | falling |
| 37 | Poland | 7,790 hectares per year | 2020 | down 59.6% | falling |
| 38 | Netherlands | 7,290 hectares per year | 2020 | up 161.3% | rising |
| 39 | Latvia | 7,150 hectares per year | 2020 | up 27.5% | falling |
| 40 | Togo | 7,000 hectares per year | 2020 | up 250.0% | volatile |
| 41 | Nicaragua | 6,740 hectares per year | 2020 | down 12.1% | volatile |
| 42 | Chile | 6,150 hectares per year | 2020 | down 86.9% | volatile |
| 43 | Senegal | 5,920 hectares per year | 2020 | unchanged | flat |
| 44 | Ireland | 5,910 hectares per year | 2020 | down 11.1% | volatile |
| 45 | El Salvador | 5,780 hectares per year | 2020 | up 15.1% | falling |
| 46 | Romania | 5,640 hectares per year | 2020 | down 92.7% | volatile |
| 47 | Gabon | 4,970 hectares per year | 2020 | up 158.9% | volatile |
| 48 | Norway | 4,620 hectares per year | 2020 | up 28.7% | rising |
| 49 | Jamaica | 4,420 hectares per year | 2020 | unchanged | rising |
| 50 | Denmark | 4,260 hectares per year | 2020 | down 46.1% | volatile |
| 51 | Switzerland | 2,880 hectares per year | 2020 | down 39.2% | falling |
| 52 | Morocco | 2,470 hectares per year | 2020 | up 268.7% | volatile |
| 53 | Panama | 2,420 hectares per year | 2020 | up 120.0% | falling |
| 54 | Slovenia | 2,360 hectares per year | 2020 | down 13.6% | volatile |
| 55 | Cuba | 2,190 hectares per year | 2020 | down 96.5% | volatile |
| 56 | Estonia | 2,160 hectares per year | 2020 | down 91.6% | volatile |
| 57 | Cameroon | 2,000 hectares per year | 2020 | unchanged | rising |
| 58 | Tunisia | 1,580 hectares per year | 2020 | down 46.4% | volatile |
| 59 | Saudi Arabia | 1,500 hectares per year | 2020 | — | volatile |
| 60 | Croatia | 1,460 hectares per year | 2020 | up 198.0% | volatile |
| 61 | Guinea | 1,000 hectares per year | 2020 | down 52.6% | falling |
| 62 | Iceland | 960 hectares per year | 2020 | up 6.7% | falling |
| 63 | Democratic Republic of Congo | 610 hectares per year | 2020 | down 67.0% | volatile |
| 64 | Liechtenstein | 400 hectares per year | 2020 | up 90.5% | rising |
| 65 | Chad | 300 hectares per year | 2020 | unchanged | flat |
| 66 | Colombia | 140 hectares per year | 2020 | down 98.5% | volatile |
| 67 | Comoros | 100 hectares per year | 2020 | — | volatile |
| 68 | Kyrgyzstan | 60 hectares per year | 2020 | down 98.6% | volatile |
| 69 | Djibouti | 50 hectares per year | 2020 | unchanged | volatile |
| 70 | Egypt | 30 hectares per year | 2020 | — | volatile |
| 71 | Saint Pierre and Miquelon | 10 hectares per year | 2020 | — | volatile |
| 71 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 10 hectares per year | 2020 | down 66.7% | volatile |
| 73 | Finland | 0 hectares per year | 2020 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 73 | Sweden | 0 hectares per year | 2020 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 73 | Georgia | 0 hectares per year | 2020 | — | volatile |
| 73 | Iraq | 0 hectares per year | 2020 | — | volatile |
| 73 | Singapore | 0 hectares per year | 2020 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 73 | Bhutan | 0 hectares per year | 2020 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 73 | Kuwait | 0 hectares per year | 2020 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 73 | Brazil | 0 hectares per year | 2020 | — | volatile |
| 73 | Mauritius | 0 hectares per year | 2020 | down 100.0% | volatile |
About this data
Forest expansion is the sum of afforestation (the establishment of forest through planting and/or deliberate seeding) and natural forest expansion (expansion of forests through natural succession on land that, until then, was under another land use).