Annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in Ireland
Ireland: Annual change in forest area as a share of forest area was 0.9% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in Ireland, 1991–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in Ireland stood at 0.9%.
The figure is down 0.9% on the previous year and up 4.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in Ireland peaked at 3.5% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 0.9%, in 2015.
Ireland ranks 10th of 228 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 3.5% | — |
| 1992 | 3.4% | -3.4% |
| 1993 | 3.3% | -3.3% |
| 1994 | 3.2% | -3.2% |
| 1995 | 3.1% | -3.1% |
| 1996 | 3.0% | -3.0% |
| 1997 | 2.9% | -2.9% |
| 1998 | 2.8% | -2.8% |
| 1999 | 2.8% | -2.8% |
| 2000 | 2.7% | -2.7% |
| 2001 | 1.4% | -47.4% |
| 2002 | 1.4% | -1.4% |
| 2003 | 1.4% | -1.4% |
| 2004 | 1.4% | -1.4% |
| 2005 | 1.3% | -1.3% |
| 2006 | 1.3% | -1.3% |
| 2007 | 1.3% | -1.3% |
| 2008 | 1.3% | -1.3% |
| 2009 | 1.3% | -1.3% |
| 2010 | 1.2% | -1.2% |
| 2011 | 0.9% | -24.5% |
| 2012 | 0.9% | -0.9% |
| 2013 | 0.9% | -0.9% |
| 2014 | 0.9% | -0.9% |
| 2015 | 0.9% | -0.9% |
| 2016 | 1.0% | +11.6% |
| 2017 | 1.0% | -1.0% |
| 2018 | 1.0% | -1.0% |
| 2019 | 1.0% | -1.0% |
| 2020 | 1.0% | -1.0% |
| 2021 | 1.0% | +1.3% |
| 2022 | 1.0% | -1.0% |
| 2023 | 1.0% | -1.0% |
| 2024 | 1.0% | -1.0% |
| 2025 | 0.9% | -0.9% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 0.9% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.1%, 13.3× the median. (54 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in Ireland changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | -47.4% | 2.7% | 1.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3.1% | 2.8% | 3.5% | 9 |
| 2000s | 1.5% | 1.3% | 2.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.0% | 0.9% | 1.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.0% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
- 7 Cape Verde 1.2% compare
- 8 Serbia 1.1% compare
- 9 Uzbekistan 1.1% compare
- 11 Uruguay 0.9% compare
- 12 Azerbaijan 0.9% compare
- 13 Wallis and Futuna 0.8% compare
More environment data for Ireland
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 2.51 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 2.17 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.412 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.89 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -1.13 % 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 -0.0083 % 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 change in forest area as a share of forest area in Ireland?
- Annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in Ireland was 0.9% in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual change in forest area as a share of forest area recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 3.5% in 1991.
- What is the lowest annual change in forest area as a share of forest area recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.9% in 2015.
- How does Ireland rank for annual change in forest area as a share of forest area?
- Ireland ranks 10th out of 228 countries with data for 2025.
- Is annual change in forest area as a share of forest area rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.5%. 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 change in forest area as a share of forest area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Annual net change in forest area measures forest expansion (the sum of afforestation and natural expansion) minus deforestation.