Annual forest expansion in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Annual forest expansion was 13,400 hectares per year in 2020. ▼ Falling
Annual forest expansion in United Kingdom, 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 United Kingdom stood at 13,400 hectares per year.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 19.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual forest expansion in United Kingdom peaked at 18,300 hectares per year in 1990 and was at its lowest, 11,000 hectares per year, in 2000.
That places United Kingdom 25th out of 110 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top quarter.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 18,300 hectares per year | 18,300 hectares per year | 18,300 hectares per year | 1 |
| 2000s | 11,000 hectares per year | 11,000 hectares per year | 11,000 hectares per year | 1 |
| 2010s | 13,750 hectares per year | 11,200 hectares per year | 16,300 hectares per year | 2 |
| 2020s | 13,400 hectares per year | 13,400 hectares per year | 13,400 hectares per year | 1 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More environment data for United Kingdom
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 386.7 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 5.58 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 31.55 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.7351 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 3.35 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.078 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 58.88 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.3113 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.1931 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 22.62 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual forest expansion in United Kingdom?
- Annual forest expansion in United Kingdom was 13,400 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 United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 18,300 hectares per year in 1990.
- What is the lowest annual forest expansion recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 11,000 hectares per year in 2000.
- How does United Kingdom rank for annual forest expansion?
- United Kingdom ranks 25th out of 110 countries with data for 2020.
- Is annual forest expansion rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is up 19.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United Kingdom 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).