Forest area by type: naturally regenerating vs. planted in Canada
Canada: Forest area by type: naturally regenerating vs. planted was 20.71 million hectares in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
20.71 million hectares
Change on year
up 2.2%
World rank
4th
of 185 countries
All-time high
20.71 million hectares
in 2025
All-time low
4.62 million hectares
in 1990
Years of data
36
1990–2025
Forest area by type: naturally regenerating vs. planted in Canada, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Canada recorded 20.71 million hectares for forest area by type: naturally regenerating vs. planted in 2025. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.2% on the previous year and up 27.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area by type: naturally regenerating vs. planted in Canada peaked at 20.71 million hectares in 2025 and was at its lowest, 4.62 million hectares, in 1990.
That places Canada 4th out of 185 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Forest area by type: naturally regenerating vs. planted in Canada, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 4.62 million hectares | — |
| 1991 | 5.10 million hectares | +10.3% |
| 1992 | 5.58 million hectares | +9.4% |
| 1993 | 6.05 million hectares | +8.6% |
| 1994 | 6.53 million hectares | +7.9% |
| 1995 | 7.01 million hectares | +7.3% |
| 1996 | 7.49 million hectares | +6.8% |
| 1997 | 7.96 million hectares | +6.4% |
| 1998 | 8.44 million hectares | +6.0% |
| 1999 | 8.92 million hectares | +5.7% |
| 2000 | 9.40 million hectares | +5.4% |
| 2001 | 9.87 million hectares | +5.1% |
| 2002 | 10.35 million hectares | +4.8% |
| 2003 | 10.82 million hectares | +4.6% |
| 2004 | 11.29 million hectares | +4.4% |
| 2005 | 11.77 million hectares | +4.2% |
| 2006 | 12.24 million hectares | +4.0% |
| 2007 | 12.72 million hectares | +3.9% |
| 2008 | 13.19 million hectares | +3.7% |
| 2009 | 13.67 million hectares | +3.6% |
| 2010 | 14.14 million hectares | +3.5% |
| 2011 | 14.57 million hectares | +3.0% |
| 2012 | 14.99 million hectares | +2.9% |
| 2013 | 15.42 million hectares | +2.8% |
| 2014 | 15.84 million hectares | +2.8% |
| 2015 | 16.27 million hectares | +2.7% |
| 2016 | 16.70 million hectares | +2.7% |
| 2017 | 17.14 million hectares | +2.6% |
| 2018 | 17.57 million hectares | +2.5% |
| 2019 | 18.01 million hectares | +2.5% |
| 2020 | 18.44 million hectares | +2.4% |
| 2021 | 18.90 million hectares | +2.5% |
| 2022 | 19.35 million hectares | +2.4% |
| 2023 | 19.80 million hectares | +2.3% |
| 2024 | 20.25 million hectares | +2.3% |
| 2025 | 20.71 million hectares | +2.2% |
Canada compared with similar countries
- Canada's 20.71 million hectares is above the median for high income countries, which is 377,020 hectares, 54.9× the median. (58 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 6.77 million hectares | 4.62 million hectares | 8.92 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 11.53 million hectares | 9.40 million hectares | 13.67 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 16.06 million hectares | 14.14 million hectares | 18.01 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 19.57 million hectares | 18.44 million hectares | 20.71 million hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Canada
More environment data for Canada
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -2.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -6.76 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.642 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.96 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 1.7 % 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 -0.3398 % 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 Canada?
- Forest area by type: naturally regenerating vs. planted in Canada was 20.71 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 Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 20.71 million hectares in 2025.
- What is the lowest forest area by type: naturally regenerating vs. planted recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.62 million hectares in 1990.
- How does Canada rank for forest area by type: naturally regenerating vs. planted?
- Canada ranks 4th out of 185 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forest area by type: naturally regenerating vs. planted rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is up 27.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Canada 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).