Forest area by type: naturally regenerating vs. planted in Australia
Australia: Forest area by type: naturally regenerating vs. planted was 2.06 million hectares in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
2.06 million hectares
Change on year
down 0.3%
World rank
29th
of 185 countries
All-time high
2.32 million hectares
in 2010
All-time low
1.02 million hectares
in 1990
Years of data
36
1990–2025
Forest area by type: naturally regenerating vs. planted in Australia, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
In 2025, forest area by type: naturally regenerating vs. planted in Australia stood at 2.06 million hectares.
That represents a change of down 0.3% on the previous year and down 9.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area by type: naturally regenerating vs. planted in Australia peaked at 2.32 million hectares in 2010 and was at its lowest, 1.02 million hectares, in 1990.
That places Australia 29th out of 185 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Forest area by type: naturally regenerating vs. planted in Australia, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 1.02 million hectares | — |
| 1991 | 1.07 million hectares | +4.5% |
| 1992 | 1.12 million hectares | +4.3% |
| 1993 | 1.16 million hectares | +4.1% |
| 1994 | 1.21 million hectares | +4.0% |
| 1995 | 1.25 million hectares | +3.8% |
| 1996 | 1.30 million hectares | +3.7% |
| 1997 | 1.35 million hectares | +3.6% |
| 1998 | 1.39 million hectares | +3.4% |
| 1999 | 1.44 million hectares | +3.3% |
| 2000 | 1.48 million hectares | +3.2% |
| 2001 | 1.57 million hectares | +5.6% |
| 2002 | 1.65 million hectares | +5.3% |
| 2003 | 1.73 million hectares | +5.0% |
| 2004 | 1.82 million hectares | +4.8% |
| 2005 | 1.90 million hectares | +4.6% |
| 2006 | 1.98 million hectares | +4.4% |
| 2007 | 2.07 million hectares | +4.2% |
| 2008 | 2.15 million hectares | +4.0% |
| 2009 | 2.23 million hectares | +3.9% |
| 2010 | 2.32 million hectares | +3.7% |
| 2011 | 2.31 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 2.30 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2013 | 2.30 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 2.29 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 2.28 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 2.24 million hectares | -1.7% |
| 2017 | 2.20 million hectares | -1.8% |
| 2018 | 2.17 million hectares | -1.8% |
| 2019 | 2.13 million hectares | -1.8% |
| 2020 | 2.09 million hectares | -1.8% |
| 2021 | 2.08 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2022 | 2.08 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2023 | 2.07 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2024 | 2.06 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2025 | 2.06 million hectares | -0.3% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 2.06 million hectares is above the median for high income countries, which is 377,020 hectares, 5.5× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Australia's 2.06 million hectares is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 302,515 hectares, 6.8× the median. (28 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.23 million hectares | 1.02 million hectares | 1.44 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.86 million hectares | 1.48 million hectares | 2.23 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.25 million hectares | 2.13 million hectares | 2.32 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.07 million hectares | 2.06 million hectares | 2.09 million hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 26 France 2.36 million hectares compare
- 27 Belarus 2.27 million hectares compare
- 28 South Korea 2.26 million hectares compare
- 30 Bosnia and Herzegovina 2.05 million hectares compare
- 31 North Korea 1.60 million hectares compare
- 32 Iran 1.56 million hectares compare
More environment data for Australia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.75 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.98 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.345 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.4 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.6708 % 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 0.0861 % 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 by type: naturally regenerating vs. planted in Australia?
- Forest area by type: naturally regenerating vs. planted in Australia was 2.06 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 by type: naturally regenerating vs. planted recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 2.32 million hectares in 2010.
- What is the lowest forest area by type: naturally regenerating vs. planted recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.02 million hectares in 1990.
- How does Australia rank for forest area by type: naturally regenerating vs. planted?
- Australia ranks 29th out of 185 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forest area by type: naturally regenerating vs. planted rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia 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 by type: naturally regenerating vs. planted. 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).