Forest area in United States
United States: Forest area was 308.89 million hectares in 2025. ▬ Flat
Latest (2025)
308.89 million hectares
Change on year
down 0.0%
World rank
4th
of 235 countries
All-time high
310.10 million hectares
in 2015
All-time low
302.45 million hectares
in 1990
Years of data
36
1990–2025
Forest area in United States, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
The most recent figure for forest area in United States is 308.89 million hectares, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in United States peaked at 310.10 million hectares in 2015 and was at its lowest, 302.45 million hectares, in 1990.
That places United States 4th out of 235 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
Forest area in United States, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 302.45 million hectares | — |
| 1991 | 302.56 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 302.67 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 302.78 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 302.88 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 302.99 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 303.10 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 303.21 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 303.32 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 303.43 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 303.54 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 304.05 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 304.57 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 305.09 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2004 | 305.61 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 306.13 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 306.65 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2007 | 307.17 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 307.68 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 308.20 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 308.72 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 309.00 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 309.27 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 309.55 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 309.82 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 310.10 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 309.93 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2017 | 309.76 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 309.59 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 309.42 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 309.25 million hectares | -0.1% |
| 2021 | 309.18 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2022 | 309.11 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2023 | 309.04 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2024 | 308.97 million hectares | -0.0% |
| 2025 | 308.89 million hectares | -0.0% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 308.89 million hectares is above the median for high income countries, which is 436,060 hectares, 708.4× the median. (83 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 302.94 million hectares | 302.45 million hectares | 303.43 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 305.87 million hectares | 303.54 million hectares | 308.20 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 309.51 million hectares | 308.72 million hectares | 310.10 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 309.07 million hectares | 308.89 million hectares | 309.25 million hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near United States
More environment data for United States
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -2.64 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -2.16 Percentage change (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.3672 % 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 -0.624 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), annual 0.1269 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per unit of 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest area in United States?
- Forest area in United States was 308.89 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 United States?
- The highest recorded value was 310.10 million hectares in 2015.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 302.45 million hectares in 1990.
- How does United States rank for forest area?
- United States ranks 4th out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forest area rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this United States 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.