Annual forest expansion in Canada
Canada: Annual forest expansion was 40,700 hectares per year in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Annual forest expansion in Canada, 1990–2020
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares per year.
Analysis
The most recent figure for annual forest expansion in Canada is 40,700 hectares per year, measured in 2020.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 92.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual forest expansion in Canada peaked at 563,460 hectares per year in 2000 and was at its lowest, 7,330 hectares per year, in 1990.
That places Canada 13th out of 110 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top quarter.
Annual forest expansion in Canada, year by year
| Year | hectares per year | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 7,330 hectares per year | — |
| 2000 | 563,460 hectares per year | +7587.0% |
| 2010 | 560,790 hectares per year | -0.5% |
| 2015 | 230,400 hectares per year | -58.9% |
| 2020 | 40,700 hectares per year | -82.3% |
Canada compared with similar countries
- Canada's 40,700 hectares per year is above the median for high income countries, which is 2,880 hectares per year, 14.1× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 7,330 hectares per year | 7,330 hectares per year | 7,330 hectares per year | 1 |
| 2000s | 563,460 hectares per year | 563,460 hectares per year | 563,460 hectares per year | 1 |
| 2010s | 395,595 hectares per year | 230,400 hectares per year | 560,790 hectares per year | 2 |
| 2020s | 40,700 hectares per year | 40,700 hectares per year | 40,700 hectares per year | 1 |
Countries ranked near Canada
More environment data for Canada
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -2.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -6.76 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.642 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.96 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 1.7 % 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 -0.3398 % 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 forest expansion in Canada?
- Annual forest expansion in Canada was 40,700 hectares per year in 2020, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual forest expansion recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 563,460 hectares per year in 2000.
- What is the lowest annual forest expansion recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 7,330 hectares per year in 1990.
- How does Canada rank for annual forest expansion?
- Canada ranks 13th out of 110 countries with data for 2020.
- Is annual forest expansion rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is down 92.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Canada 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 forest expansion. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 5 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
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).