Annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Annual change in forest area as a share of forest area was 0.4% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in United Kingdom, 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 United Kingdom stood at 0.4%.
The figure is down 0.4% on the previous year and down 36.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in United Kingdom peaked at 0.6% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 0.3%, in 2010.
United Kingdom ranks 26th of 228 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in United Kingdom, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 0.6% | — |
| 1992 | 0.6% | -0.6% |
| 1993 | 0.6% | -0.6% |
| 1994 | 0.6% | -0.6% |
| 1995 | 0.6% | -0.6% |
| 1996 | 0.6% | -0.6% |
| 1997 | 0.6% | -0.6% |
| 1998 | 0.6% | -0.6% |
| 1999 | 0.6% | -0.6% |
| 2000 | 0.6% | -0.6% |
| 2001 | 0.4% | -40.6% |
| 2002 | 0.4% | -0.4% |
| 2003 | 0.4% | -0.4% |
| 2004 | 0.4% | -0.4% |
| 2005 | 0.3% | -0.3% |
| 2006 | 0.3% | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 0.3% | -0.3% |
| 2008 | 0.3% | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 0.3% | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 0.3% | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 0.6% | +81.7% |
| 2012 | 0.6% | -0.6% |
| 2013 | 0.6% | -0.6% |
| 2014 | 0.6% | -0.6% |
| 2015 | 0.6% | -0.6% |
| 2016 | 0.4% | -37.7% |
| 2017 | 0.4% | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 0.4% | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 0.4% | -0.4% |
| 2020 | 0.4% | -0.4% |
| 2021 | 0.4% | +4.6% |
| 2022 | 0.4% | -0.4% |
| 2023 | 0.4% | -0.4% |
| 2024 | 0.4% | -0.4% |
| 2025 | 0.4% | -0.4% |
United Kingdom compared with similar countries
- United Kingdom's 0.4% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.1%, 5.4× the median. (54 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in United Kingdom 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | +81.7% | 0.3% | 0.6% |
| 2001 | -40.6% | 0.6% | 0.4% |
| 2016 | -37.7% | 0.6% | 0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 9 |
| 2000s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More environment data for United Kingdom
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -3.13 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -7.25 Percentage change (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -3.47 % 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 -0.8735 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), annual -1.29 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per unit of 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 United Kingdom?
- Annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in United Kingdom was 0.4% 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 United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 0.6% in 1991.
- What is the lowest annual change in forest area as a share of forest area recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3% in 2010.
- How does United Kingdom rank for annual change in forest area as a share of forest area?
- United Kingdom ranks 26th out of 228 countries with data for 2025.
- Is annual change in forest area as a share of forest area rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is down 36.8%. 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 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.