Forest land — Area in South America
South America: Forest land — Area was 848,587 1000 ha in 2025. ▼ Falling
Forest land — Area in South America, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.
Analysis
The most recent figure for forest land — area in South America is 848,587 1000 ha, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.
The figure is down 0.5% on the previous year and down 4.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest land — area in South America peaked at 1.03 million 1000 ha in 1990 and was at its lowest, 848,587 1000 ha, in 2025.
That places South America 6th out of 32 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.
Forest land — Area in South America, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 1.03 million 1000 ha | — |
| 1991 | 1.02 million 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 1992 | 1.01 million 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 1993 | 1.01 million 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 1994 | 999,073 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 1995 | 991,734 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 1996 | 984,396 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 1997 | 977,057 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 1998 | 969,719 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 1999 | 962,380 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 2000 | 955,042 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 2001 | 950,088 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2002 | 945,133 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2003 | 940,179 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 935,225 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2005 | 930,271 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2006 | 925,317 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2007 | 920,363 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2008 | 915,408 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2009 | 910,454 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2010 | 905,500 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2011 | 902,320 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2012 | 899,139 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 895,959 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2014 | 892,778 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 889,598 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 885,763 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2017 | 881,929 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 878,094 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 874,260 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2020 | 870,425 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2021 | 866,057 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2022 | 861,690 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2023 | 857,322 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2024 | 852,954 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2025 | 848,587 1000 ha | -0.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 995,404 1000 ha | 962,380 1000 ha | 1.03 million 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 932,748 1000 ha | 910,454 1000 ha | 955,042 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 890,534 1000 ha | 874,260 1000 ha | 905,500 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 859,506 1000 ha | 848,587 1000 ha | 870,425 1000 ha | 6 |
Countries ranked near South America
- 4 Brazil 486,087 1000 ha compare
- 5 Canada 368,819 1000 ha compare
- 6 United States 308,895 1000 ha compare
- 7 China 227,153 1000 ha compare
- 7 China, mainland 227,153 1000 ha compare
- 9 Australia and New Zealand 143,865 1000 ha compare
More environment data for South America
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.98 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -6.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.218 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.23 °C (2025)
- Roundwood — Production 477.72 million m3 (2024)
- Roundwood, non-coniferous — Production 379.32 million m3 (2024)
- Roundwood, coniferous — Production 98.40 million m3 (2024)
- Roundwood — Export value 589,290 1000 USD (2024)
- Roundwood — Export quantity 4.28 million m3 (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest land — area in South America?
- Forest land — area in South America was 848,587 1000 ha in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest forest land — area recorded in South America?
- The highest recorded value was 1.03 million 1000 ha in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest land — area recorded in South America?
- The lowest recorded value was 848,587 1000 ha in 2025.
- How does South America rank for forest land — area?
- South America ranks 6th out of 32 groups with data for 2025.
- Is forest land — area rising or falling in South America?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South America 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.