Forest area in Laos
Laos: Forest area was 13.04 million hectares in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
13.04 million hectares
Change on year
down 0.3%
World rank
46th
of 235 countries
All-time high
14.40 million hectares
in 1990
All-time low
13.04 million hectares
in 2025
Years of data
36
1990–2025
Forest area in Laos, 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 Laos stood at 13.04 million hectares. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.
The figure is down 0.3% on the previous year and down 2.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in Laos peaked at 14.40 million hectares in 1990 and was at its lowest, 13.04 million hectares, in 2025.
That places Laos 46th 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 Laos, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 14.40 million hectares | — |
| 1991 | 14.36 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1992 | 14.33 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1993 | 14.29 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1994 | 14.26 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1995 | 14.22 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1996 | 14.19 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1997 | 14.15 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1998 | 14.12 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 14.09 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 2000 | 14.05 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 2001 | 14.01 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2002 | 13.97 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2003 | 13.93 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2004 | 13.89 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2005 | 13.86 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2006 | 13.82 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 13.78 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2008 | 13.74 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 13.70 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 13.66 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 13.60 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 2012 | 13.54 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 13.49 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 2014 | 13.43 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 13.37 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 13.34 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 13.31 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 13.28 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 13.24 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 2020 | 13.21 million hectares | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 13.18 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2022 | 13.14 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2023 | 13.11 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2024 | 13.07 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2025 | 13.04 million hectares | -0.3% |
Laos compared with similar countries
- Laos's 13.04 million hectares is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 3.89 million hectares, 3.3× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Laos's 13.04 million hectares is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1.14 million hectares, 11.5× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 14.24 million hectares | 14.09 million hectares | 14.40 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 13.87 million hectares | 13.70 million hectares | 14.05 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 13.43 million hectares | 13.24 million hectares | 13.66 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 13.12 million hectares | 13.04 million hectares | 13.21 million hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Laos
More environment data for Laos
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -1.77 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -1.51 Percentage change (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.9142 % 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 0.4183 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), annual 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per unit of 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest area in Laos?
- Forest area in Laos was 13.04 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 Laos?
- The highest recorded value was 14.40 million hectares in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in Laos?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.04 million hectares in 2025.
- How does Laos rank for forest area?
- Laos ranks 46th out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forest area rising or falling in Laos?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Laos 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.