Forest land — Area in Iceland
Iceland: Forest land — Area was 61.48 1000 ha in 2025. ▲ Rising
Forest land — Area in Iceland, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.
Analysis
In 2025, forest land — area in Iceland stood at 61.48 1000 ha. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
The figure is up 1.6% on the previous year and up 15.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest land — area in Iceland peaked at 61.48 1000 ha in 2025 and was at its lowest, 17.93 1000 ha, in 1990.
Iceland ranks 189th of 249 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Forest land — Area in Iceland, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 17.93 1000 ha | — |
| 1991 | 19.36 1000 ha | +8.0% |
| 1992 | 20.79 1000 ha | +7.4% |
| 1993 | 22.22 1000 ha | +6.9% |
| 1994 | 23.65 1000 ha | +6.4% |
| 1995 | 25.08 1000 ha | +6.0% |
| 1996 | 26.5 1000 ha | +5.7% |
| 1997 | 27.93 1000 ha | +5.4% |
| 1998 | 29.36 1000 ha | +5.1% |
| 1999 | 30.79 1000 ha | +4.9% |
| 2000 | 32.22 1000 ha | +4.6% |
| 2001 | 33.87 1000 ha | +5.1% |
| 2002 | 35.52 1000 ha | +4.9% |
| 2003 | 37.18 1000 ha | +4.7% |
| 2004 | 38.83 1000 ha | +4.4% |
| 2005 | 40.48 1000 ha | +4.2% |
| 2006 | 42.13 1000 ha | +4.1% |
| 2007 | 43.78 1000 ha | +3.9% |
| 2008 | 45.44 1000 ha | +3.8% |
| 2009 | 47.09 1000 ha | +3.6% |
| 2010 | 48.74 1000 ha | +3.5% |
| 2011 | 49.64 1000 ha | +1.8% |
| 2012 | 50.54 1000 ha | +1.8% |
| 2013 | 51.43 1000 ha | +1.8% |
| 2014 | 52.33 1000 ha | +1.7% |
| 2015 | 53.23 1000 ha | +1.7% |
| 2016 | 53.92 1000 ha | +1.3% |
| 2017 | 54.6 1000 ha | +1.3% |
| 2018 | 55.29 1000 ha | +1.3% |
| 2019 | 55.97 1000 ha | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 56.66 1000 ha | +1.2% |
| 2021 | 57.62 1000 ha | +1.7% |
| 2022 | 58.59 1000 ha | +1.7% |
| 2023 | 59.55 1000 ha | +1.6% |
| 2024 | 60.52 1000 ha | +1.6% |
| 2025 | 61.48 1000 ha | +1.6% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 61.48 1000 ha is below the median for high income countries, which is 576.21 1000 ha, 11% of the median. (78 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 61.48 1000 ha is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 2,216 1000 ha, 3% of the median. (53 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 24.36 1000 ha | 17.93 1000 ha | 30.79 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 39.65 1000 ha | 32.22 1000 ha | 47.09 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 52.57 1000 ha | 48.74 1000 ha | 55.97 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 59.07 1000 ha | 56.66 1000 ha | 61.48 1000 ha | 6 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
- 186 Guadeloupe 75.6 1000 ha compare
- 187 Jordan 70.7 1000 ha compare
- 188 Micronesia (Federated States of) 64.57 1000 ha compare
- 190 Dominica 57.35 1000 ha compare
- 191 Sao Tome and Principe 55.28 1000 ha compare
- 192 Martinique 52.67 1000 ha compare
More environment data for Iceland
- Grazing land use over the long-term, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per capita 4.46 hectares per person (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 3.89 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.587 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.47 °C (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per square kilometre 17.37 hectares per square kilometre (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.8549 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest land — area in Iceland?
- Forest land — area in Iceland was 61.48 1000 ha in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest forest land — area recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 61.48 1000 ha in 2025.
- What is the lowest forest land — area recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.93 1000 ha in 1990.
- How does Iceland rank for forest land — area?
- Iceland ranks 189th out of 249 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forest land — area rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iceland data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Forest land — Area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
The FAOSTAT Land Use domain contains data on twenty-one land use categories and twenty-three categories of irrigation and agricultural practices. Data are available yearly and by country, regional and global levels. The domain includes Land Use Indicators providing information on the percentage share of agricultural and forest land, and their sub-components, including irrigated areas and areas under organic agriculture, within a country land use matrix. Data are available at country, regional and global level, for the following elements: (in percentage) i) Share in Land area; ii) Share in Agricultural land, iii) Share in Cropland; and iv) Share in Forest land; (in ha/pc) v) Area per capita.