Annual forest expansion in Italy

Italy: Annual forest expansion was 48,920 hectares per year in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
48,920 hectares per year
World rank
9th
of 110 countries
All-time high
48,920 hectares per year
in 2020
All-time low
45,210 hectares per year
in 1990
Years of data
5
1990–2020

Annual forest expansion in Italy, 1990–2020

010.0k20.0k30.0k40.0k50.0k1990200520201990: 45.2k hectares per year2000: 47.2k hectares per year2010: 48.1k hectares per year2015: 48.5k hectares per year2020: 48.9k hectares per year

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares per year.

Analysis

In 2020, annual forest expansion in Italy stood at 48,920 hectares per year. That is the highest value across all 5 years on record.

The figure is up 1.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, annual forest expansion in Italy peaked at 48,920 hectares per year in 2020 and was at its lowest, 45,210 hectares per year, in 1990.

That places Italy 9th out of 110 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top 10%.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 45,210 hectares per year 45,210 hectares per year 45,210 hectares per year 1
2000s 47,160 hectares per year 47,160 hectares per year 47,160 hectares per year 1
2010s 48,290 hectares per year 48,060 hectares per year 48,520 hectares per year 2
2020s 48,920 hectares per year 48,920 hectares per year 48,920 hectares per year 1

Countries ranked near Italy

  1. 6 Sudan 89,860 hectares per year compare
  2. 7 New Zealand 77,650 hectares per year compare
  3. 8 Paraguay 53,910 hectares per year compare
  4. 10 Guatemala 47,910 hectares per year compare
  5. 11 Uzbekistan 45,000 hectares per year compare
  6. 12 Portugal 42,050 hectares per year compare

See the full ranking of 110 places →

More environment data for Italy

All data for Italy →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual forest expansion in Italy?
Annual forest expansion in Italy was 48,920 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 Italy?
The highest recorded value was 48,920 hectares per year in 2020.
What is the lowest annual forest expansion recorded in Italy?
The lowest recorded value was 45,210 hectares per year in 1990.
How does Italy rank for annual forest expansion?
Italy ranks 9th out of 110 countries with data for 2020.
Is annual forest expansion rising or falling in Italy?
Over the last ten years it is up 1.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Italy 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.

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About this data

Indicator
Annual forest expansion
Unit
hectares per year
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
110 places, 550 data points, 1990–2020
Last refreshed

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).