Forest area in Malaysia
Malaysia: Forest area was 18.88 million hectares in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
18.88 million hectares
Change on year
down 0.3%
World rank
35th
of 235 countries
All-time high
20.62 million hectares
in 1990
All-time low
18.88 million hectares
in 2025
Years of data
36
1990–2025
Forest area in Malaysia, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Malaysia recorded 18.88 million hectares for forest area 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 in Malaysia peaked at 20.62 million hectares in 1990 and was at its lowest, 18.88 million hectares, 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 in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 20.62 million hectares | — |
| 1991 | 20.53 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 1992 | 20.43 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 1993 | 20.34 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 1994 | 20.25 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 1995 | 20.15 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 1996 | 20.06 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 1997 | 19.97 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 1998 | 19.88 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 1999 | 19.78 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2000 | 19.69 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2001 | 19.62 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 2002 | 19.54 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 2003 | 19.47 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 2004 | 19.39 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 2005 | 19.32 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 2006 | 19.25 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 2007 | 19.17 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 2008 | 19.10 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 2009 | 19.02 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 2010 | 18.95 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 2011 | 19.05 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 19.15 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 19.26 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 2014 | 19.36 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 19.46 million hectares | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 19.41 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 19.35 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2018 | 19.30 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 19.24 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2020 | 19.18 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2021 | 19.12 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2022 | 19.06 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2023 | 19.00 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2024 | 18.94 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2025 | 18.88 million hectares | -0.3% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 18.88 million hectares is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 2.29 million hectares, 8.2× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 18.88 million hectares is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1.14 million hectares, 16.6× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 20.20 million hectares | 19.78 million hectares | 20.62 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 19.36 million hectares | 19.02 million hectares | 19.69 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 19.25 million hectares | 18.95 million hectares | 19.46 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 19.03 million hectares | 18.88 million hectares | 19.18 million hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More environment data for Malaysia
- 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)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 4.33 % 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 0.9114 % 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 Malaysia?
- Forest area in Malaysia was 18.88 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 Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 20.62 million hectares in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 18.88 million hectares in 2025.
- How does Malaysia rank for forest area?
- Malaysia ranks 35th out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forest area 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 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.