Forest area in North Korea
North Korea: Forest area was 7.73 million hectares in 2025. ▬ Flat
Latest (2025)
7.73 million hectares
Change on year
up 0.1%
World rank
61st
of 235 countries
All-time high
7.73 million hectares
in 2025
All-time low
7.46 million hectares
in 1990
Years of data
36
1990–2025
Forest area in North Korea, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
North Korea recorded 7.73 million hectares for forest area in 2025. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 1.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in North Korea peaked at 7.73 million hectares in 2025 and was at its lowest, 7.46 million hectares, in 1990.
North Korea ranks 61st of 235 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Forest area in North Korea, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 7.46 million hectares | — |
| 1991 | 7.46 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 7.46 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 7.46 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 7.46 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 7.46 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 7.46 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 7.46 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 7.46 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 7.46 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 7.46 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 7.47 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 7.48 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2003 | 7.49 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2004 | 7.50 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2005 | 7.51 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 7.52 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2007 | 7.53 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2008 | 7.54 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 7.55 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 7.56 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 7.57 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2012 | 7.58 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 7.59 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 7.60 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 7.61 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 7.63 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 7.64 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 7.65 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 7.66 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 7.67 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2021 | 7.68 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 7.69 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 7.71 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 7.72 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2025 | 7.73 million hectares | +0.1% |
North Korea compared with similar countries
- North Korea's 7.73 million hectares is above the median for low income countries, which is 3.24 million hectares, 2.4× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- North Korea's 7.73 million hectares is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1.14 million hectares, 6.8× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 7.46 million hectares | 7.46 million hectares | 7.46 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.50 million hectares | 7.46 million hectares | 7.55 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.61 million hectares | 7.56 million hectares | 7.66 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.70 million hectares | 7.67 million hectares | 7.73 million hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near North Korea
- 58 Senegal 8.65 million hectares compare
- 59 Namibia 8.04 million hectares compare
- 60 French Guiana 7.98 million hectares compare
- 62 Philippines 7.44 million hectares compare
- 63 South Sudan 7.16 million hectares compare
- 64 Ghana 7.06 million hectares compare
More environment data for North Korea
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 3.16 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 2.89 Percentage change (2025)
- Cooling Degree Days 854.46 (2024)
- Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from Industrial Processes (Mt CO2e) 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e) 0.8843 % change on previous year (2024)
- Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e) 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt) 0.9455 % change on previous year (2024)
- Heating Degree Days 6,917 (2024)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual -0.97 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest area in North Korea?
- Forest area in North Korea was 7.73 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 North Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 7.73 million hectares in 2025.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in North Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.46 million hectares in 1990.
- How does North Korea rank for forest area?
- North Korea ranks 61st out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forest area rising or falling in North Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this North Korea 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.