Forest land — Share in Land area in China
China: Forest land — Share in Land area was 23.93 % in 2024. ▲ Rising
Forest land — Share in Land area in China, 1990–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
China recorded 23.93 % for forest land — share in land area in 2024. That is the highest value across all 35 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.7% on the previous year and up 8.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest land — share in land area in China peaked at 23.93 % in 2024 and was at its lowest, 16.67 %, in 1990.
That places China 146th out of 249 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.
Forest land — Share in Land area in China, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 16.67 % | — |
| 1991 | 16.88 % | +1.3% |
| 1992 | 17.09 % | +1.2% |
| 1993 | 17.31 % | +1.3% |
| 1994 | 17.52 % | +1.2% |
| 1995 | 17.73 % | +1.2% |
| 1996 | 17.94 % | +1.2% |
| 1997 | 18.15 % | +1.2% |
| 1998 | 18.36 % | +1.2% |
| 1999 | 18.57 % | +1.1% |
| 2000 | 18.78 % | +1.1% |
| 2001 | 19.03 % | +1.3% |
| 2002 | 19.28 % | +1.3% |
| 2003 | 19.53 % | +1.3% |
| 2004 | 19.78 % | +1.3% |
| 2005 | 20.03 % | +1.3% |
| 2006 | 20.28 % | +1.2% |
| 2007 | 20.53 % | +1.2% |
| 2008 | 20.78 % | +1.2% |
| 2009 | 21.04 % | +1.3% |
| 2010 | 21.29 % | +1.2% |
| 2011 | 21.49 % | +0.9% |
| 2012 | 21.7 % | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 21.9 % | +0.9% |
| 2014 | 22.11 % | +1.0% |
| 2015 | 22.31 % | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 22.5 % | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 22.69 % | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 22.87 % | +0.8% |
| 2019 | 23.06 % | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 23.25 % | +0.8% |
| 2021 | 23.42 % | +0.7% |
| 2022 | 23.59 % | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 23.76 % | +0.7% |
| 2024 | 23.93 % | +0.7% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 23.93 % is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 38.73 %, 62% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
- China's 23.93 % is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 50.67 %, 47% of the median. (31 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 17.62 % | 16.67 % | 18.57 % | 10 |
| 2000s | 19.91 % | 18.78 % | 21.04 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 22.19 % | 21.29 % | 23.06 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 23.59 % | 23.25 % | 23.93 % | 5 |
Countries ranked near China
- 143 Chile 24.48 % compare
- 144 India 24.44 % compare
- 145 China, mainland 24.02 % compare
- 147 Ethiopia 23.84 % compare
- 148 Montserrat 23.73 % compare
- 149 Saint Martin (French Part) 23.4 % compare
More environment data for China
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.279 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.92 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 5.29 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.8065 % 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 -0.2517 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest land — share in land area in China?
- Forest land — share in land area in China was 23.93 % in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest forest land — share in land area recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 23.93 % in 2024.
- What is the lowest forest land — share in land area recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.67 % in 1990.
- How does China rank for forest land — share in land area?
- China ranks 146th out of 249 countries with data for 2024.
- Is forest land — share in land area rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Forest land — Share in Land area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 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.