Forest area km in Malaysia
Malaysia: Forest area km was 18.88 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
18.88 million
Change on year
down 0.3%
World rank
35th
of 235 countries
All-time high
20.62 million
in 1990
All-time low
18.88 million
in 2025
Years of data
36
1990–2025
Forest area km in Malaysia, 1990–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
Malaysia recorded 18.88 million for forest area km in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.3% on the previous year and down 3.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area km in Malaysia peaked at 20.62 million in 1990 and was at its lowest, 18.88 million, in 2025.
Malaysia ranks 35th of 235 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.
Forest area km in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 20.62 million | — |
| 1991 | 20.53 million | -0.4% |
| 1992 | 20.43 million | -0.5% |
| 1993 | 20.34 million | -0.5% |
| 1994 | 20.25 million | -0.5% |
| 1995 | 20.15 million | -0.5% |
| 1996 | 20.06 million | -0.5% |
| 1997 | 19.97 million | -0.5% |
| 1998 | 19.88 million | -0.5% |
| 1999 | 19.78 million | -0.5% |
| 2000 | 19.69 million | -0.5% |
| 2001 | 19.62 million | -0.4% |
| 2002 | 19.54 million | -0.4% |
| 2003 | 19.47 million | -0.4% |
| 2004 | 19.39 million | -0.4% |
| 2005 | 19.32 million | -0.4% |
| 2006 | 19.25 million | -0.4% |
| 2007 | 19.17 million | -0.4% |
| 2008 | 19.10 million | -0.4% |
| 2009 | 19.02 million | -0.4% |
| 2010 | 18.95 million | -0.4% |
| 2011 | 19.05 million | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 19.15 million | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 19.26 million | +0.5% |
| 2014 | 19.36 million | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 19.46 million | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 19.41 million | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 19.35 million | -0.3% |
| 2018 | 19.30 million | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 19.24 million | -0.3% |
| 2020 | 19.18 million | -0.3% |
| 2021 | 19.12 million | -0.3% |
| 2022 | 19.06 million | -0.3% |
| 2023 | 19.00 million | -0.3% |
| 2024 | 18.94 million | -0.3% |
| 2025 | 18.88 million | -0.3% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 18.88 million is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 2.29 million, 8.2× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 18.88 million is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1.14 million, 16.6× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 20.20 million | 19.78 million | 20.62 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 19.36 million | 19.02 million | 19.69 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 19.25 million | 18.95 million | 19.46 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 19.03 million | 18.88 million | 19.18 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More environment data for Malaysia
- Grazing land use over the long-term, annual growth rate 0 % 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 0.0079 hectares per person (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -1.65 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -1.9 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.179 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.25 °C (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per square kilometre 0.8674 hectares per square kilometre (2024)
- Sawnwood, coniferous — Production, annual growth rate -100 % change on previous year (2015)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest area km in Malaysia?
- Forest area km in Malaysia was 18.88 million in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest forest area km recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 20.62 million in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest area km recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 18.88 million in 2025.
- How does Malaysia rank for forest area km?
- Malaysia ranks 35th out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forest area km rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malaysia 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).