Annual forest expansion in Italy
Italy: Annual forest expansion was 48,920 hectares per year in 2020. ▲ Rising
Annual forest expansion in Italy, 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
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%.
Annual forest expansion in Italy, year by year
| Year | hectares per year | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 45,210 hectares per year | — |
| 2000 | 47,160 hectares per year | +4.3% |
| 2010 | 48,060 hectares per year | +1.9% |
| 2015 | 48,520 hectares per year | +1.0% |
| 2020 | 48,920 hectares per year | +0.8% |
Italy compared with similar countries
- Italy's 48,920 hectares per year is above the median for high income countries, which is 2,880 hectares per year, 17.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Italy's 48,920 hectares per year is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 5,130 hectares per year, 9.5× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | 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
More environment data for Italy
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 2.04 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 2.47 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.324 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.18 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -1.94 % 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 -0.2257 % 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 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.
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).