Forest land — Area in Malaysia

Malaysia: Forest land — Area was 18,885 1000 ha in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
18,885 1000 ha
Change on year
down 0.3%
World rank
42nd
of 249 countries
All-time high
20,618 1000 ha
in 1990
All-time low
18,885 1000 ha
in 2025
Years of data
36
1990–2025

Forest land — Area in Malaysia, 1990–2025

05.0k10.0k15.0k20.0k1990200720251990: 20.6k 1000 ha1991: 20.5k 1000 ha1992: 20.4k 1000 ha1993: 20.3k 1000 ha1994: 20.2k 1000 ha1995: 20.2k 1000 ha1996: 20.1k 1000 ha1997: 20.0k 1000 ha1998: 19.9k 1000 ha1999: 19.8k 1000 ha2000: 19.7k 1000 ha2001: 19.6k 1000 ha2002: 19.5k 1000 ha2003: 19.5k 1000 ha2004: 19.4k 1000 ha2005: 19.3k 1000 ha2006: 19.2k 1000 ha2007: 19.2k 1000 ha2008: 19.1k 1000 ha2009: 19.0k 1000 ha2010: 18.9k 1000 ha2011: 19.1k 1000 ha2012: 19.2k 1000 ha2013: 19.3k 1000 ha2014: 19.4k 1000 ha2015: 19.5k 1000 ha2016: 19.4k 1000 ha2017: 19.4k 1000 ha2018: 19.3k 1000 ha2019: 19.2k 1000 ha2020: 19.2k 1000 ha2021: 19.1k 1000 ha2022: 19.1k 1000 ha2023: 19.0k 1000 ha2024: 18.9k 1000 ha2025: 18.9k 1000 ha

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.

Analysis

Malaysia recorded 18,885 1000 ha for forest land — area in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.3% on the previous year and down 3.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, forest land — area in Malaysia peaked at 20,618 1000 ha in 1990 and was at its lowest, 18,885 1000 ha, in 2025.

Malaysia ranks 42nd of 249 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.

Forest land — Area in Malaysia, year by year

Annual values for Forest land — Area in Malaysia, 1990 to 2025.
Year 1000 ha Change
1990 20,618 1000 ha —
1991 20,526 1000 ha -0.4%
1992 20,433 1000 ha -0.5%
1993 20,340 1000 ha -0.5%
1994 20,248 1000 ha -0.5%
1995 20,155 1000 ha -0.5%
1996 20,062 1000 ha -0.5%
1997 19,970 1000 ha -0.5%
1998 19,877 1000 ha -0.5%
1999 19,784 1000 ha -0.5%
2000 19,691 1000 ha -0.5%
2001 19,617 1000 ha -0.4%
2002 19,543 1000 ha -0.4%
2003 19,468 1000 ha -0.4%
2004 19,394 1000 ha -0.4%
2005 19,320 1000 ha -0.4%
2006 19,245 1000 ha -0.4%
2007 19,171 1000 ha -0.4%
2008 19,096 1000 ha -0.4%
2009 19,022 1000 ha -0.4%
2010 18,948 1000 ha -0.4%
2011 19,051 1000 ha +0.5%
2012 19,154 1000 ha +0.5%
2013 19,258 1000 ha +0.5%
2014 19,361 1000 ha +0.5%
2015 19,464 1000 ha +0.5%
2016 19,408 1000 ha -0.3%
2017 19,352 1000 ha -0.3%
2018 19,296 1000 ha -0.3%
2019 19,241 1000 ha -0.3%
2020 19,185 1000 ha -0.3%
2021 19,125 1000 ha -0.3%
2022 19,065 1000 ha -0.3%
2023 19,005 1000 ha -0.3%
2024 18,945 1000 ha -0.3%
2025 18,885 1000 ha -0.3%

Malaysia compared with similar countries

  • Malaysia's 18,885 1000 ha is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 2,330 1000 ha, 8.1× the median. (55 countries reporting)
  • Malaysia's 18,885 1000 ha is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1,137 1000 ha, 16.6× the median. (31 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 20,201 1000 ha 19,784 1000 ha 20,618 1000 ha 10
2000s 19,357 1000 ha 19,022 1000 ha 19,691 1000 ha 10
2010s 19,253 1000 ha 18,948 1000 ha 19,464 1000 ha 10
2020s 19,035 1000 ha 18,885 1000 ha 19,185 1000 ha 6

Countries ranked near Malaysia

  1. 39 Thailand 19,648 1000 ha compare
  2. 40 Cameroon 19,143 1000 ha compare
  3. 41 Spain 19,133 1000 ha compare
  4. 43 Guyana 18,377 1000 ha compare
  5. 44 Chile 18,162 1000 ha compare
  6. 45 France 17,795 1000 ha compare

See the full ranking of 281 places →

More environment data for Malaysia

All data for Malaysia →

Frequently asked questions

What is forest land — area in Malaysia?
Forest land — area in Malaysia was 18,885 1000 ha in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest forest land — area recorded in Malaysia?
The highest recorded value was 20,618 1000 ha in 1990.
What is the lowest forest land — area recorded in Malaysia?
The lowest recorded value was 18,885 1000 ha in 2025.
How does Malaysia rank for forest land — area?
Malaysia ranks 42nd out of 249 countries with data for 2025.
Is forest land — area rising or falling in Malaysia?
Over the last ten years it is down 3.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Malaysia 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.

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Forest land — Area in Malaysia. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 27 September 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/forest-land-area/malaysia/

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About this data

Indicator
Forest land — Area
Unit
1000 ha
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
281 places, 9,790 data points, 1990–2025
Last refreshed

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.