Forest land — Share in Land area in France

France: Forest land — Share in Land area was 32.85 % in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
32.85 %
Change on year
up 0.5%
World rank
126th
of 249 countries
All-time high
32.85 %
in 2024
All-time low
26.79 %
in 1990
Years of data
35
1990–2024

Forest land — Share in Land area in France, 1990–2024

01020301990200720241990: 26.8 %1991: 26.9 %1992: 27.1 %1993: 27.3 %1994: 27.4 %1995: 27.6 %1996: 27.7 %1997: 27.9 %1998: 28.1 %1999: 28.2 %2000: 28.4 %2001: 28.6 %2002: 28.8 %2003: 29 %2004: 29.2 %2005: 29.4 %2006: 29.6 %2007: 29.8 %2008: 30.1 %2009: 30.2 %2010: 30.5 %2011: 30.6 %2012: 30.8 %2013: 30.9 %2014: 31.1 %2015: 31.2 %2016: 31.4 %2017: 31.6 %2018: 31.8 %2019: 32 %2020: 32.2 %2021: 32.4 %2022: 32.5 %2023: 32.7 %2024: 32.9 %

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

Analysis

France recorded 32.85 % for forest land — share in land area in 2024. That is the highest value across all 35 years on record.

That represents a change of up 0.5% on the previous year and up 5.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, forest land — share in land area in France peaked at 32.85 % in 2024 and was at its lowest, 26.79 %, in 1990.

That places France 126th 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 France, year by year

Annual values for Forest land — Share in Land area in France, 1990 to 2024.
Year % Change
1990 26.79 % —
1991 26.94 % +0.6%
1992 27.1 % +0.6%
1993 27.26 % +0.6%
1994 27.42 % +0.6%
1995 27.58 % +0.6%
1996 27.73 % +0.5%
1997 27.89 % +0.6%
1998 28.05 % +0.6%
1999 28.21 % +0.6%
2000 28.37 % +0.6%
2001 28.58 % +0.7%
2002 28.79 % +0.7%
2003 29 % +0.7%
2004 29.21 % +0.7%
2005 29.42 % +0.7%
2006 29.63 % +0.7%
2007 29.84 % +0.7%
2008 30.05 % +0.7%
2009 30.25 % +0.7%
2010 30.46 % +0.7%
2011 30.62 % +0.5%
2012 30.77 % +0.5%
2013 30.93 % +0.5%
2014 31.08 % +0.5%
2015 31.24 % +0.5%
2016 31.43 % +0.6%
2017 31.62 % +0.6%
2018 31.81 % +0.6%
2019 32 % +0.6%
2020 32.19 % +0.6%
2021 32.35 % +0.5%
2022 32.52 % +0.5%
2023 32.69 % +0.5%
2024 32.85 % +0.5%

France compared with similar countries

  • France's 32.85 % is below the median for high income countries, which is 34.12 %, 96% of the median. (78 countries reporting)
  • France's 32.85 % is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 32.85 %, 1.0× the median. (53 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 27.5 % 26.79 % 28.21 % 10
2000s 29.31 % 28.37 % 30.25 % 10
2010s 31.2 % 30.46 % 32 % 10
2020s 32.52 % 32.19 % 32.85 % 5

Countries ranked near France

  1. 123 Guatemala 33.12 % compare
  2. 124 El Salvador 33.01 % compare
  3. 125 OECD 32.94 % compare
  4. 127 Germany 32.84 % compare
  5. 128 Switzerland 32.02 % compare
  6. 129 Italy 31.82 % compare

See the full ranking of 281 places →

More environment data for France

All data for France →

Frequently asked questions

What is forest land — share in land area in France?
Forest land — share in land area in France was 32.85 % in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest forest land — share in land area recorded in France?
The highest recorded value was 32.85 % in 2024.
What is the lowest forest land — share in land area recorded in France?
The lowest recorded value was 26.79 % in 1990.
How does France rank for forest land — share in land area?
France ranks 126th out of 249 countries with data for 2024.
Is forest land — share in land area rising or falling in France?
Over the last ten years it is up 5.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this France 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.

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

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About this data

Indicator
Forest land — Share in Land area
Unit
%
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
281 places, 9,513 data points, 1990–2024
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.