Forest land — Share in Land area in India
India: Forest land — Share in Land area was 24.44 % in 2024. ▲ Rising
Forest land — Share in Land area in India, 1990–2024
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 144th 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 India, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 21.5 % | — |
| 1991 | 21.63 % | +0.6% |
| 1992 | 21.75 % | +0.6% |
| 1993 | 21.87 % | +0.6% |
| 1994 | 22 % | +0.6% |
| 1995 | 22.12 % | +0.5% |
| 1996 | 22.24 % | +0.5% |
| 1997 | 22.36 % | +0.5% |
| 1998 | 22.49 % | +0.6% |
| 1999 | 22.61 % | +0.5% |
| 2000 | 22.73 % | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 22.8 % | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 22.86 % | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 22.93 % | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 22.99 % | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 23.05 % | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 23.12 % | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 23.18 % | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 23.25 % | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 23.31 % | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 23.37 % | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 23.46 % | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 23.55 % | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 23.64 % | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 23.73 % | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 23.82 % | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 23.92 % | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 24.02 % | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 24.12 % | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 24.22 % | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 24.32 % | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 24.35 % | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 24.38 % | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 24.41 % | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 24.44 % | +0.1% |
India compared with similar countries
- India's 24.44 % is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 23.45 %, 1.0× the median. (44 countries reporting)
- India's 24.44 % is below the median for South Asia, which is 29.4 %, 83% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | 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
More environment data for India
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 11.05 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 12.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.254 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.954 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 17.18 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 3.92 % 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 1.12 % change on previous year (2024)
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 144th out of 249 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
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.