Forest land — Area in India
India: Forest land — Area was 72,739 1000 ha in 2025. ▲ Rising
Forest land — Area in India, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.
Analysis
In 2025, forest land — area in India stood at 72,739 1000 ha. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 2.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest land — area in India peaked at 72,739 1000 ha in 2025 and was at its lowest, 63,938 1000 ha, in 1990.
That places India 13th out of 249 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 land — Area in India, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 63,938 1000 ha | — |
| 1991 | 64,303 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1992 | 64,669 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1993 | 65,034 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1994 | 65,399 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1995 | 65,764 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1996 | 66,130 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1997 | 66,495 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1998 | 66,860 1000 ha | +0.5% |
| 1999 | 67,226 1000 ha | +0.5% |
| 2000 | 67,591 1000 ha | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 67,782 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 67,972 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 68,162 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 68,353 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 68,544 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 68,734 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 68,924 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 69,115 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 69,306 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 69,496 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 69,762 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 70,029 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 70,295 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 70,562 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 70,828 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 71,124 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 71,420 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 71,717 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 72,013 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 72,309 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 72,395 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 72,481 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 72,567 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 72,653 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 2025 | 72,739 1000 ha | +0.1% |
India compared with similar countries
- India's 72,739 1000 ha is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 3,483 1000 ha, 20.9× the median. (44 countries reporting)
- India's 72,739 1000 ha is above the median for South Asia, which is 2,398 1000 ha, 30.3× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 65,582 1000 ha | 63,938 1000 ha | 67,226 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 68,448 1000 ha | 67,591 1000 ha | 69,306 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 70,725 1000 ha | 69,496 1000 ha | 72,013 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 72,524 1000 ha | 72,309 1000 ha | 72,739 1000 ha | 6 |
Countries ranked near India
More environment data for India
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 11.05 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 12.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.254 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.954 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 17.18 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 3.92 % 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 1.12 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest land — area in India?
- Forest land — area in India was 72,739 1000 ha in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest forest land — area recorded in India?
- The highest recorded value was 72,739 1000 ha in 2025.
- What is the lowest forest land — area recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 63,938 1000 ha in 1990.
- How does India rank for forest land — area?
- India ranks 13th out of 249 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forest land — area rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this India 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.