Forest area in Norway
Norway: Forest area was 12.11 million hectares in 2025. ▬ Flat
Latest (2025)
12.11 million hectares
Change on year
down 0.0%
World rank
48th
of 235 countries
All-time high
12.22 million hectares
in 1990
All-time low
12.11 million hectares
in 2025
Years of data
36
1990–2025
Forest area in Norway, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Norway recorded 12.11 million hectares for forest area in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.
The figure is down 0.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in Norway peaked at 12.22 million hectares in 1990 and was at its lowest, 12.11 million hectares, in 2025.
That places Norway 48th out of 235 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
Forest area in Norway, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 12.22 million hectares | — |
| 1991 | 12.21 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 1992 | 12.21 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 1993 | 12.21 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 1994 | 12.21 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 1995 | 12.21 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 1996 | 12.21 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 1997 | 12.20 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 1998 | 12.20 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 1999 | 12.20 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2000 | 12.20 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2001 | 12.19 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2002 | 12.19 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2003 | 12.18 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2004 | 12.18 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2005 | 12.17 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2006 | 12.17 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2007 | 12.16 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2008 | 12.16 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2009 | 12.15 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2010 | 12.15 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2011 | 12.15 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2012 | 12.14 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2013 | 12.14 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2014 | 12.14 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2015 | 12.13 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2016 | 12.13 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2017 | 12.13 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2018 | 12.13 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2019 | 12.12 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2020 | 12.12 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2021 | 12.12 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2022 | 12.12 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2023 | 12.11 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2024 | 12.11 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2025 | 12.11 million hectares | -0.0% |
Norway compared with similar countries
- Norway's 12.11 million hectares is above the median for high income countries, which is 436,060 hectares, 27.8× the median. (83 countries reporting)
- Norway's 12.11 million hectares is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 2.12 million hectares, 5.7× the median. (56 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 12.21 million hectares | 12.20 million hectares | 12.22 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 12.18 million hectares | 12.15 million hectares | 12.20 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.14 million hectares | 12.12 million hectares | 12.15 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.11 million hectares | 12.11 million hectares | 12.12 million hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Norway
More environment data for Norway
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 0.9857 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 0.8118 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.738 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.52 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -3.08 % 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 -0.28 % 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 Norway?
- Forest area in Norway was 12.11 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 Norway?
- The highest recorded value was 12.22 million hectares in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in Norway?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.11 million hectares in 2025.
- How does Norway rank for forest area?
- Norway ranks 48th out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forest area rising or falling in Norway?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Norway 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.