Forest area km in India
India: Forest area km was 72.74 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
72.74 million
Change on year
up 0.1%
World rank
9th
of 235 countries
All-time high
72.74 million
in 2025
All-time low
63.94 million
in 1990
Years of data
36
1990–2025
Forest area km in India, 1990–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for forest area km in India is 72.74 million, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
The figure is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 2.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area km in India peaked at 72.74 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 63.94 million, in 1990.
That places India 9th out of 235 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Forest area km in India, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 63.94 million | — |
| 1991 | 64.30 million | +0.6% |
| 1992 | 64.67 million | +0.6% |
| 1993 | 65.03 million | +0.6% |
| 1994 | 65.40 million | +0.6% |
| 1995 | 65.76 million | +0.6% |
| 1996 | 66.13 million | +0.6% |
| 1997 | 66.50 million | +0.6% |
| 1998 | 66.86 million | +0.5% |
| 1999 | 67.23 million | +0.5% |
| 2000 | 67.59 million | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 67.78 million | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 67.97 million | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 68.16 million | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 68.35 million | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 68.54 million | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 68.73 million | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 68.92 million | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 69.11 million | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 69.31 million | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 69.50 million | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 69.76 million | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 70.03 million | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 70.30 million | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 70.56 million | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 70.83 million | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 71.12 million | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 71.42 million | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 71.72 million | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 72.01 million | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 72.31 million | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 72.39 million | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 72.48 million | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 72.57 million | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 72.65 million | +0.1% |
| 2025 | 72.74 million | +0.1% |
India compared with similar countries
- India's 72.74 million is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 3.89 million, 18.7× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- India's 72.74 million is above the median for South Asia, which is 2.40 million, 30.3× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 65.58 million | 63.94 million | 67.23 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 68.45 million | 67.59 million | 69.31 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 70.72 million | 69.50 million | 72.01 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 72.52 million | 72.31 million | 72.74 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near India
More environment data for India
- Grazing land use over the long-term, annual growth rate 0.3669 % change on previous year (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per capita 0.0072 hectares per person (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 11.05 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 12.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.254 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.954 °C (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per square kilometre 3.51 hectares per square kilometre (2024)
- Sawnwood, coniferous — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest area km in India?
- Forest area km in India was 72.74 million in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest forest area km recorded in India?
- The highest recorded value was 72.74 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest forest area km recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 63.94 million in 1990.
- How does India rank for forest area km?
- India ranks 9th out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forest area km rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this India data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Forest area km. 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).