Forest area in Ecuador
Ecuador: Forest area was 12.31 million hectares in 2025. ▼ Falling
Forest area in Ecuador, 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 Ecuador is 12.31 million hectares, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.
The figure is down 0.2% on the previous year and down 4.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in Ecuador peaked at 14.63 million hectares in 1990 and was at its lowest, 12.31 million hectares, in 2025.
That places Ecuador 47th out of 235 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.
Forest area in Ecuador, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 14.63 million hectares | — |
| 1991 | 14.54 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 1992 | 14.45 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 1993 | 14.36 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 1994 | 14.27 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 1995 | 14.18 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 1996 | 14.09 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 1997 | 14.00 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 1998 | 13.91 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 1999 | 13.82 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 2000 | 13.73 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2001 | 13.66 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2002 | 13.59 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2003 | 13.52 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 13.45 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2005 | 13.38 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2006 | 13.31 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2007 | 13.24 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2008 | 13.17 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2009 | 13.10 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2010 | 13.03 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2011 | 12.99 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 12.94 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2013 | 12.90 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 12.86 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 12.82 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 12.75 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 2017 | 12.68 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 2018 | 12.60 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 2019 | 12.53 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 2020 | 12.46 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 2021 | 12.43 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 2022 | 12.40 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 2023 | 12.37 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 2024 | 12.34 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 2025 | 12.31 million hectares | -0.2% |
Ecuador compared with similar countries
- Ecuador's 12.31 million hectares is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 2.29 million hectares, 5.4× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Ecuador's 12.31 million hectares is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 999,945 hectares, 12.3× the median. (42 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 14.23 million hectares | 13.82 million hectares | 14.63 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 13.41 million hectares | 13.10 million hectares | 13.73 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.81 million hectares | 12.53 million hectares | 13.03 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.39 million hectares | 12.31 million hectares | 12.46 million hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Ecuador
More environment data for Ecuador
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 0.3767 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -1.05 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.4 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.49 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 1.65 % 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 -1.14 % 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 Ecuador?
- Forest area in Ecuador was 12.31 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 Ecuador?
- The highest recorded value was 14.63 million hectares in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in Ecuador?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.31 million hectares in 2025.
- How does Ecuador rank for forest area?
- Ecuador ranks 47th out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forest area rising or falling in Ecuador?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ecuador 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.