Forest area in Australia
Australia: Forest area was 133.56 million hectares in 2025. ▬ Flat
Latest (2025)
133.56 million hectares
Change on year
up 0.0%
World rank
7th
of 235 countries
All-time high
134.57 million hectares
in 1990
All-time low
131.17 million hectares
in 2010
Years of data
36
1990–2025
Forest area in Australia, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
The most recent figure for forest area in Australia is 133.56 million hectares, measured in 2025.
The figure is up 0.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in Australia peaked at 134.57 million hectares in 1990 and was at its lowest, 131.17 million hectares, in 2010.
Australia ranks 7th of 235 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
Forest area in Australia, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 134.57 million hectares | — |
| 1991 | 134.41 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1992 | 134.24 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1993 | 134.07 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1994 | 133.91 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1995 | 133.74 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1996 | 133.57 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1997 | 133.41 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1998 | 133.24 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 1999 | 133.07 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2000 | 132.91 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2001 | 132.73 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2002 | 132.56 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2003 | 132.39 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 132.21 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2005 | 132.04 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 131.87 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 131.69 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 131.52 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 131.34 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 131.17 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2011 | 131.44 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2012 | 131.71 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 131.97 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 132.24 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 132.51 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 132.66 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 132.82 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 132.98 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 133.13 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 133.29 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2021 | 133.34 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 133.40 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 133.45 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 133.51 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 133.56 million hectares | +0.0% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 133.56 million hectares is above the median for high income countries, which is 436,060 hectares, 306.3× the median. (83 countries reporting)
- Australia's 133.56 million hectares is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1.14 million hectares, 117.5× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 133.82 million hectares | 133.07 million hectares | 134.57 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 132.13 million hectares | 131.34 million hectares | 132.91 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 132.26 million hectares | 131.17 million hectares | 133.13 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 133.43 million hectares | 133.29 million hectares | 133.56 million hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More environment data for Australia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.75 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.98 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.345 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.4 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.6708 % 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 0.0861 % 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 forest area in Australia?
- Forest area in Australia was 133.56 million hectares 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 forest area recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 134.57 million hectares in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 131.17 million hectares in 2010.
- How does Australia rank for forest area?
- Australia ranks 7th out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forest area rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Australia 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 Forest area. 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
Forest area is land under natural or planted stands of trees of at least 5 meters in situ, whether productive or not, and excludes tree stands in agricultural production systems.