Share of land covered by forest in Malta
Malta: Share of land covered by forest was 1.5% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of land covered by forest in Malta, 1990–2025
Source: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (2013) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of land covered by forest in Malta is 1.5%, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
The figure is up 0.4% on the previous year and up 34.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land covered by forest in Malta peaked at 1.5% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1.1%, in 1990.
That places Malta 194th out of 216 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Share of land covered by forest in Malta, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 1.1% | — |
| 1991 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 1.2% | +6.3% |
| 2017 | 1.2% | +5.9% |
| 2018 | 1.3% | +5.6% |
| 2019 | 1.4% | +5.3% |
| 2020 | 1.4% | +5.0% |
| 2021 | 1.4% | +0.4% |
| 2022 | 1.4% | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 1.5% | +0.4% |
| 2024 | 1.5% | +0.4% |
| 2025 | 1.5% | +0.4% |
Malta compared with similar countries
- Malta's 1.5% is below the median for high income countries, which is 33.2%, 4% of the median. (83 countries reporting)
- Malta's 1.5% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 1.6%, 92% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.2% | 1.1% | 1.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.5% | 1.4% | 1.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malta
- 191 Afghanistan 1.9% compare
- 192 Palestine 1.8% compare
- 193 Iraq 1.6% compare
- 195 Kiribati 1.3% compare
- 196 Kazakhstan 1.3% compare
- 197 Saudi Arabia 1.3% compare
More environment data for Malta
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -1.15 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -1.15 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.365 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.16 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.8269 % 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 % 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 share of land covered by forest in Malta?
- Share of land covered by forest in Malta was 1.5% in 2025, according to Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (2013) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of land covered by forest recorded in Malta?
- The highest recorded value was 1.5% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of land covered by forest recorded in Malta?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.1% in 1990.
- How does Malta rank for share of land covered by forest?
- Malta ranks 194th out of 216 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of land covered by forest rising or falling in Malta?
- Over the last ten years it is up 34.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malta data come from?
- The figures come from Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (2013) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of land covered by forest. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of land area covered by forest, including both natural forests and forest plantations.