Forest area in Switzerland
Switzerland: Forest area was 1.27 million hectares in 2025. ▲ Rising
Forest area in Switzerland, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Switzerland recorded 1.27 million hectares for forest area in 2025. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and up 1.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in Switzerland peaked at 1.27 million hectares in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1.15 million hectares, in 1990.
Switzerland ranks 118th of 235 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Forest area in Switzerland, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 1.15 million hectares | — |
| 1991 | 1.16 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1992 | 1.16 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1993 | 1.17 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1994 | 1.17 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 1.17 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1996 | 1.18 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1997 | 1.18 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1998 | 1.19 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1999 | 1.19 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 1.20 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 1.20 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 1.20 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 1.21 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 1.21 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 1.22 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 1.22 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 1.22 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 1.23 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 1.23 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 1.23 million hectares | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 1.24 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2012 | 1.24 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 1.24 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 1.25 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 1.25 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 1.25 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 1.25 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 1.25 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 1.26 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 1.26 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2021 | 1.26 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 1.26 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 1.26 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 1.27 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2025 | 1.27 million hectares | +0.1% |
Switzerland compared with similar countries
- Switzerland's 1.27 million hectares is above the median for high income countries, which is 436,060 hectares, 2.9× the median. (83 countries reporting)
- Switzerland's 1.27 million hectares is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 2.12 million hectares, 60% of the median. (56 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.17 million hectares | 1.15 million hectares | 1.19 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.21 million hectares | 1.20 million hectares | 1.23 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.25 million hectares | 1.23 million hectares | 1.26 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.26 million hectares | 1.26 million hectares | 1.27 million hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Switzerland
More environment data for Switzerland
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -0.2925 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -0.4333 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.458 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.33 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.2741 % 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 0.0914 % 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 Switzerland?
- Forest area in Switzerland was 1.27 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 Switzerland?
- The highest recorded value was 1.27 million hectares in 2025.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in Switzerland?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.15 million hectares in 1990.
- How does Switzerland rank for forest area?
- Switzerland ranks 118th out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forest area rising or falling in Switzerland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Switzerland 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.