Annual forest expansion in Spain

Spain: Annual forest expansion was 34,400 hectares per year in 2020. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2020)
34,400 hectares per year
World rank
16th
of 110 countries
All-time high
318,930 hectares per year
in 1990
All-time low
3,810 hectares per year
in 2010
Years of data
5
1990–2020

Annual forest expansion in Spain, 1990–2020

0100.0k200.0k300.0k1990200520201990: 318.9k hectares per year2000: 152.9k hectares per year2010: 3.8k hectares per year2015: 85.1k hectares per year2020: 34.4k 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 Spain stood at 34,400 hectares per year.

That represents a change of up 802.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, annual forest expansion in Spain peaked at 318,930 hectares per year in 1990 and was at its lowest, 3,810 hectares per year, in 2010.

That places Spain 16th out of 110 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top quarter.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 318,930 hectares per year 318,930 hectares per year 318,930 hectares per year 1
2000s 152,930 hectares per year 152,930 hectares per year 152,930 hectares per year 1
2010s 44,445 hectares per year 3,810 hectares per year 85,080 hectares per year 2
2020s 34,400 hectares per year 34,400 hectares per year 34,400 hectares per year 1

Countries ranked near Spain

  1. 13 Canada 40,700 hectares per year compare
  2. 14 Mexico 38,050 hectares per year compare
  3. 15 Kazakhstan 35,800 hectares per year compare
  4. 17 Ethiopia 34,280 hectares per year compare
  5. 18 Dominican Republic 31,240 hectares per year compare
  6. 19 Honduras 20,640 hectares per year compare

See the full ranking of 110 places →

More environment data for Spain

All data for Spain →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual forest expansion in Spain?
Annual forest expansion in Spain was 34,400 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 Spain?
The highest recorded value was 318,930 hectares per year in 1990.
What is the lowest annual forest expansion recorded in Spain?
The lowest recorded value was 3,810 hectares per year in 2010.
How does Spain rank for annual forest expansion?
Spain ranks 16th out of 110 countries with data for 2020.
Is annual forest expansion rising or falling in Spain?
Over the last ten years it is up 802.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Spain 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).