Annual forest expansion in India
India: Annual forest expansion was 674,000 hectares per year in 2020. ▬ Flat
Annual forest expansion in India, 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 India is 674,000 hectares per year, measured in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 5 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 27.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual forest expansion in India peaked at 958,000 hectares per year in 2015 and was at its lowest, 674,000 hectares per year, in 2020.
That places India 4th out of 110 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top 10%.
Annual forest expansion in India, year by year
| Year | hectares per year | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 749,300 hectares per year | — |
| 2000 | 820,000 hectares per year | +9.4% |
| 2010 | 934,800 hectares per year | +14.0% |
| 2015 | 958,000 hectares per year | +2.5% |
| 2020 | 674,000 hectares per year | -29.6% |
India compared with similar countries
- India's 674,000 hectares per year is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1,790 hectares per year, 376.5× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 749,300 hectares per year | 749,300 hectares per year | 749,300 hectares per year | 1 |
| 2000s | 820,000 hectares per year | 820,000 hectares per year | 820,000 hectares per year | 1 |
| 2010s | 946,400 hectares per year | 934,800 hectares per year | 958,000 hectares per year | 2 |
| 2020s | 674,000 hectares per year | 674,000 hectares per year | 674,000 hectares per year | 1 |
Countries ranked near India
More environment data for India
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 11.05 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 12.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.254 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.954 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 3.92 % 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 1.12 % 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 India?
- Annual forest expansion in India was 674,000 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 India?
- The highest recorded value was 958,000 hectares per year in 2015.
- What is the lowest annual forest expansion recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 674,000 hectares per year in 2020.
- How does India rank for annual forest expansion?
- India ranks 4th out of 110 countries with data for 2020.
- Is annual forest expansion rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is down 27.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this India 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).