Forest area in Bhutan
Bhutan: Forest area was 2.67 million hectares in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
2.67 million hectares
Change on year
down 0.3%
World rank
97th
of 235 countries
All-time high
2.72 million hectares
in 2020
All-time low
2.51 million hectares
in 1990
Years of data
36
1990–2025
Forest area in Bhutan, 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 Bhutan is 2.67 million hectares, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of down 0.3% on the previous year and down 1.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in Bhutan peaked at 2.72 million hectares in 2020 and was at its lowest, 2.51 million hectares, in 1990.
Bhutan ranks 97th of 235 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Forest area in Bhutan, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 2.51 million hectares | — |
| 1991 | 2.52 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1992 | 2.53 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1993 | 2.54 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1994 | 2.55 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 2.56 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1996 | 2.57 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1997 | 2.58 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1998 | 2.59 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1999 | 2.60 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 2.61 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 2.62 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 2.63 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 2.64 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 2.65 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 2.66 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 2.67 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 2.68 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 2.69 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 2.70 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 2.71 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 2.71 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 2.71 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 2.71 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 2.71 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 2.72 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 2.72 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 2.72 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 2.72 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 2.72 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 2.72 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 2.71 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2022 | 2.70 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2023 | 2.69 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2024 | 2.68 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2025 | 2.67 million hectares | -0.3% |
Bhutan compared with similar countries
- Bhutan's 2.67 million hectares is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 3.89 million hectares, 69% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Bhutan's 2.67 million hectares is above the median for South Asia, which is 2.40 million hectares, 1.1× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 2.55 million hectares | 2.51 million hectares | 2.60 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.65 million hectares | 2.61 million hectares | 2.70 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.71 million hectares | 2.71 million hectares | 2.72 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.70 million hectares | 2.67 million hectares | 2.72 million hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Bhutan
- 94 Costa Rica 2.99 million hectares compare
- 95 Czechia 2.97 million hectares compare
- 96 Saudi Arabia 2.78 million hectares compare
- 98 Solomon Islands 2.51 million hectares compare
- 99 Estonia 2.45 million hectares compare
- 100 Sierra Leone 2.44 million hectares compare
More environment data for Bhutan
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 0.2782 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 0.5977 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.257 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.08 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.487 % 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 -5.53 % 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 Bhutan?
- Forest area in Bhutan was 2.67 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 Bhutan?
- The highest recorded value was 2.72 million hectares in 2020.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in Bhutan?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.51 million hectares in 1990.
- How does Bhutan rank for forest area?
- Bhutan ranks 97th out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forest area rising or falling in Bhutan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bhutan 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.