Forest area in Jamaica
Jamaica: Forest area was 616,310 hectares in 2025. ▲ Rising
Forest area in Jamaica, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
In 2025, forest area in Jamaica stood at 616,310 hectares. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
The figure is up 0.6% on the previous year and up 6.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in Jamaica peaked at 616,310 hectares in 2025 and was at its lowest, 521,010 hectares, in 2000.
Jamaica ranks 140th 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 Jamaica, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 521,280 hectares | — |
| 1991 | 521,253 hectares | -0.0% |
| 1992 | 521,226 hectares | -0.0% |
| 1993 | 521,199 hectares | -0.0% |
| 1994 | 521,172 hectares | -0.0% |
| 1995 | 521,145 hectares | -0.0% |
| 1996 | 521,118 hectares | -0.0% |
| 1997 | 521,091 hectares | -0.0% |
| 1998 | 521,064 hectares | -0.0% |
| 1999 | 521,037 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2000 | 521,010 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2001 | 524,754 hectares | +0.7% |
| 2002 | 528,498 hectares | +0.7% |
| 2003 | 532,242 hectares | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 535,986 hectares | +0.7% |
| 2005 | 539,730 hectares | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 543,474 hectares | +0.7% |
| 2007 | 547,218 hectares | +0.7% |
| 2008 | 550,962 hectares | +0.7% |
| 2009 | 554,706 hectares | +0.7% |
| 2010 | 558,450 hectares | +0.7% |
| 2011 | 562,250 hectares | +0.7% |
| 2012 | 566,050 hectares | +0.7% |
| 2013 | 569,850 hectares | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 573,650 hectares | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 577,450 hectares | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 581,336 hectares | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 585,222 hectares | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 589,108 hectares | +0.7% |
| 2019 | 592,994 hectares | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 596,880 hectares | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 600,766 hectares | +0.7% |
| 2022 | 604,652 hectares | +0.6% |
| 2023 | 608,538 hectares | +0.6% |
| 2024 | 612,424 hectares | +0.6% |
| 2025 | 616,310 hectares | +0.6% |
Jamaica compared with similar countries
- Jamaica's 616,310 hectares is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 2.29 million hectares, 27% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Jamaica's 616,310 hectares is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 999,945 hectares, 62% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 521,158 hectares | 521,037 hectares | 521,280 hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 537,858 hectares | 521,010 hectares | 554,706 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 575,636 hectares | 558,450 hectares | 592,994 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 606,595 hectares | 596,880 hectares | 616,310 hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Jamaica
More environment data for Jamaica
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -2.93 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -3.15 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.284 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.76 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 4.23 % 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 -0.7158 % 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 Jamaica?
- Forest area in Jamaica was 616,310 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 Jamaica?
- The highest recorded value was 616,310 hectares in 2025.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in Jamaica?
- The lowest recorded value was 521,010 hectares in 2000.
- How does Jamaica rank for forest area?
- Jamaica ranks 140th out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forest area rising or falling in Jamaica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Jamaica 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.