Forest area km in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Forest area km was 2.12 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
2.12 million
Change on year
down 0.2%
World rank
107th
of 235 countries
All-time high
2.37 million
in 1990
All-time low
2.10 million
in 2015
Years of data
36
1990–2025
Forest area km in Sri Lanka, 1990–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for forest area km in Sri Lanka is 2.12 million, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of down 0.2% on the previous year and up 1.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area km in Sri Lanka peaked at 2.37 million in 1990 and was at its lowest, 2.10 million, in 2015.
Sri Lanka ranks 107th of 235 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.
Forest area km in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 2.37 million | — |
| 1991 | 2.36 million | -0.6% |
| 1992 | 2.34 million | -0.6% |
| 1993 | 2.33 million | -0.6% |
| 1994 | 2.31 million | -0.6% |
| 1995 | 2.30 million | -0.6% |
| 1996 | 2.29 million | -0.6% |
| 1997 | 2.27 million | -0.6% |
| 1998 | 2.26 million | -0.6% |
| 1999 | 2.25 million | -0.6% |
| 2000 | 2.23 million | -0.6% |
| 2001 | 2.22 million | -0.3% |
| 2002 | 2.22 million | -0.3% |
| 2003 | 2.21 million | -0.3% |
| 2004 | 2.20 million | -0.3% |
| 2005 | 2.19 million | -0.3% |
| 2006 | 2.19 million | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 2.18 million | -0.3% |
| 2008 | 2.17 million | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 2.16 million | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 2.16 million | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 2.14 million | -0.5% |
| 2012 | 2.13 million | -0.5% |
| 2013 | 2.12 million | -0.5% |
| 2014 | 2.11 million | -0.5% |
| 2015 | 2.10 million | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 2.11 million | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 2.12 million | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 2.13 million | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 2.14 million | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 2.15 million | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 2.14 million | -0.2% |
| 2022 | 2.14 million | -0.2% |
| 2023 | 2.13 million | -0.2% |
| 2024 | 2.13 million | -0.2% |
| 2025 | 2.12 million | -0.2% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 2.12 million is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 2.29 million, 92% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 2.12 million is below the median for South Asia, which is 2.40 million, 88% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 2.31 million | 2.25 million | 2.37 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.20 million | 2.16 million | 2.23 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.12 million | 2.10 million | 2.16 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.13 million | 2.12 million | 2.15 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
- 104 Dominican Republic 2.26 million compare
- 105 Lithuania 2.22 million compare
- 106 Bosnia and Herzegovina 2.16 million compare
- 108 Guinea-Bissau 2.10 million compare
- 109 Hungary 2.09 million compare
- 110 Malawi 2.03 million compare
More environment data for Sri Lanka
- 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 0.0202 hectares per person (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 5.24 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 5.49 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.207 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.849 °C (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per square kilometre 7.11 hectares per square kilometre (2024)
- Sawnwood, coniferous — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest area km in Sri Lanka?
- Forest area km in Sri Lanka was 2.12 million in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest forest area km recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 2.37 million in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest area km recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.10 million in 2015.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for forest area km?
- Sri Lanka ranks 107th out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forest area km rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sri Lanka 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).