Annual forest expansion in Ireland
Ireland: Annual forest expansion was 5,910 hectares per year in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Annual forest expansion in Ireland, 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 Ireland is 5,910 hectares per year, measured in 2020.
That represents a change of down 11.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual forest expansion in Ireland peaked at 17,130 hectares per year in 1990 and was at its lowest, 4,660 hectares per year, in 2015.
Ireland ranks 44th of 110 regions on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 17,130 hectares per year | 17,130 hectares per year | 17,130 hectares per year | 1 |
| 2000s | 10,370 hectares per year | 10,370 hectares per year | 10,370 hectares per year | 1 |
| 2010s | 5,655 hectares per year | 4,660 hectares per year | 6,650 hectares per year | 2 |
| 2020s | 5,910 hectares per year | 5,910 hectares per year | 5,910 hectares per year | 1 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
More environment data for Ireland
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 59.68 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 11.06 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 15.58 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.0879 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 1.23 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0115 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 18.11 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0209 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0087 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 1.16 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual forest expansion in Ireland?
- Annual forest expansion in Ireland was 5,910 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 Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 17,130 hectares per year in 1990.
- What is the lowest annual forest expansion recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 4,660 hectares per year in 2015.
- How does Ireland rank for annual forest expansion?
- Ireland ranks 44th out of 110 regions with data for 2020.
- Is annual forest expansion rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 11.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Ireland 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).