Annual forest expansion in Germany
Germany: Annual forest expansion was 8,000 hectares per year in 2020. ▼ Falling
Annual forest expansion in Germany, 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
Germany recorded 8,000 hectares per year for annual forest expansion in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 5 years on record.
That represents a change of down 25.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual forest expansion in Germany peaked at 12,200 hectares per year in 1990 and was at its lowest, 8,000 hectares per year, in 2020.
That places Germany 34th out of 110 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
Annual forest expansion in Germany, year by year
| Year | hectares per year | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 12,200 hectares per year | — |
| 2000 | 11,330 hectares per year | -7.1% |
| 2010 | 10,680 hectares per year | -5.7% |
| 2015 | 9,000 hectares per year | -15.7% |
| 2020 | 8,000 hectares per year | -11.1% |
Germany compared with similar countries
- Germany's 8,000 hectares per year is above the median for high income countries, which is 2,880 hectares per year, 2.8× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Germany's 8,000 hectares per year is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 5,130 hectares per year, 1.6× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 12,200 hectares per year | 12,200 hectares per year | 12,200 hectares per year | 1 |
| 2000s | 11,330 hectares per year | 11,330 hectares per year | 11,330 hectares per year | 1 |
| 2010s | 9,840 hectares per year | 9,000 hectares per year | 10,680 hectares per year | 2 |
| 2020s | 8,000 hectares per year | 8,000 hectares per year | 8,000 hectares per year | 1 |
Countries ranked near Germany
More environment data for Germany
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.12 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -4.36 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.613 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.11 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -1.65 % 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 -0.0079 % 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 Germany?
- Annual forest expansion in Germany was 8,000 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 Germany?
- The highest recorded value was 12,200 hectares per year in 1990.
- What is the lowest annual forest expansion recorded in Germany?
- The lowest recorded value was 8,000 hectares per year in 2020.
- How does Germany rank for annual forest expansion?
- Germany ranks 34th out of 110 countries with data for 2020.
- Is annual forest expansion rising or falling in Germany?
- Over the last ten years it is down 25.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Germany 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).