Forest area by type: naturally regenerating vs. planted in Malaysia
Malaysia: Forest area by type: naturally regenerating vs. planted was 2.36 million hectares in 2025. ▲ Rising
Forest area by type: naturally regenerating vs. planted in Malaysia, 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 Malaysia stood at 2.36 million hectares. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.5% on the previous year and up 38.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area by type: naturally regenerating vs. planted in Malaysia peaked at 2.36 million hectares in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1.31 million hectares, in 2010.
Malaysia ranks 25th of 185 countries on this measure, 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 Malaysia, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 1.93 million hectares | — |
| 1991 | 1.90 million hectares | -1.6% |
| 1992 | 1.87 million hectares | -1.6% |
| 1993 | 1.84 million hectares | -1.6% |
| 1994 | 1.81 million hectares | -1.7% |
| 1995 | 1.78 million hectares | -1.7% |
| 1996 | 1.75 million hectares | -1.7% |
| 1997 | 1.72 million hectares | -1.8% |
| 1998 | 1.69 million hectares | -1.8% |
| 1999 | 1.66 million hectares | -1.8% |
| 2000 | 1.63 million hectares | -1.9% |
| 2001 | 1.60 million hectares | -2.0% |
| 2002 | 1.56 million hectares | -2.0% |
| 2003 | 1.53 million hectares | -2.0% |
| 2004 | 1.50 million hectares | -2.1% |
| 2005 | 1.47 million hectares | -2.1% |
| 2006 | 1.44 million hectares | -2.2% |
| 2007 | 1.40 million hectares | -2.2% |
| 2008 | 1.37 million hectares | -2.3% |
| 2009 | 1.34 million hectares | -2.3% |
| 2010 | 1.31 million hectares | -2.4% |
| 2011 | 1.39 million hectares | +6.1% |
| 2012 | 1.47 million hectares | +5.7% |
| 2013 | 1.55 million hectares | +5.4% |
| 2014 | 1.63 million hectares | +5.2% |
| 2015 | 1.71 million hectares | +4.9% |
| 2016 | 1.78 million hectares | +4.2% |
| 2017 | 1.85 million hectares | +4.1% |
| 2018 | 1.92 million hectares | +3.9% |
| 2019 | 2.00 million hectares | +3.8% |
| 2020 | 2.07 million hectares | +3.6% |
| 2021 | 2.13 million hectares | +2.8% |
| 2022 | 2.18 million hectares | +2.7% |
| 2023 | 2.24 million hectares | +2.7% |
| 2024 | 2.30 million hectares | +2.6% |
| 2025 | 2.36 million hectares | +2.5% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 2.36 million hectares is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 216,840 hectares, 10.9× the median. (50 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 2.36 million hectares is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 302,515 hectares, 7.8× the median. (28 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.80 million hectares | 1.66 million hectares | 1.93 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.48 million hectares | 1.34 million hectares | 1.63 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.66 million hectares | 1.31 million hectares | 2.00 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.21 million hectares | 2.07 million hectares | 2.36 million hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
- 22 New Zealand 2.43 million hectares compare
- 23 South Africa 2.42 million hectares compare
- 24 Uzbekistan 2.38 million hectares compare
- 26 France 2.36 million hectares compare
- 27 Belarus 2.27 million hectares compare
- 28 South Korea 2.26 million hectares compare
More environment data for Malaysia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -1.65 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -1.9 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.179 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.25 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 4.33 % 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 0.9114 % 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 Malaysia?
- Forest area by type: naturally regenerating vs. planted in Malaysia was 2.36 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 Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 2.36 million hectares in 2025.
- What is the lowest forest area by type: naturally regenerating vs. planted recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.31 million hectares in 2010.
- How does Malaysia rank for forest area by type: naturally regenerating vs. planted?
- Malaysia ranks 25th out of 185 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forest area by type: naturally regenerating vs. planted rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 38.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malaysia 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).