Forest land — Share in Land area in India

India: Forest land — Share in Land area was 24.44 % in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
24.44 %
Change on year
up 0.1%
World rank
133rd
of 231 countries
All-time high
24.44 %
in 2024
All-time low
21.5 %
in 1990
Years of data
35
1990–2024

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

05101520251990200720241990: 21.5 %1991: 21.6 %1992: 21.8 %1993: 21.9 %1994: 22 %1995: 22.1 %1996: 22.2 %1997: 22.4 %1998: 22.5 %1999: 22.6 %2000: 22.7 %2001: 22.8 %2002: 22.9 %2003: 22.9 %2004: 23 %2005: 23.1 %2006: 23.1 %2007: 23.2 %2008: 23.2 %2009: 23.3 %2010: 23.4 %2011: 23.5 %2012: 23.6 %2013: 23.6 %2014: 23.7 %2015: 23.8 %2016: 23.9 %2017: 24 %2018: 24.1 %2019: 24.2 %2020: 24.3 %2021: 24.4 %2022: 24.4 %2023: 24.4 %2024: 24.4 %

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for forest land — share in land area in India is 24.44 %, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 35 years on record.

The figure is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 3.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, forest land — share in land area in India peaked at 24.44 % in 2024 and was at its lowest, 21.5 %, in 1990.

That places India 133rd out of 231 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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 22.06 % 21.5 % 22.61 % 10
2000s 23.02 % 22.73 % 23.31 % 10
2010s 23.79 % 23.37 % 24.22 % 10
2020s 24.38 % 24.32 % 24.44 % 5

Countries ranked near India

  1. 130 Eswatini 25.27 % compare
  2. 131 Philippines 24.81 % compare
  3. 132 Chile 24.48 % compare
  4. 134 China, mainland 24.02 % compare
  5. 135 China 23.93 % compare
  6. 136 Ethiopia 23.84 % compare

See the full ranking of 267 places →

More environment data for India

All data for India →

Frequently asked questions

What is forest land — share in land area in India?
Forest land — share in land area in India was 24.44 % in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest forest land — share in land area recorded in India?
The highest recorded value was 24.44 % in 2024.
What is the lowest forest land — share in land area recorded in India?
The lowest recorded value was 21.5 % in 1990.
How does India rank for forest land — share in land area?
India ranks 133rd out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
Is forest land — share in land area rising or falling in India?
Over the last ten years it is up 3.0%. 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 — 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

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
267 places, 9,048 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.