Forest land — Share in Land area in Laos
Laos: Forest land — Share in Land area was 56.64 % in 2024. ▼ Falling
Forest land — Share in Land area in Laos, 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 Laos is 56.64 %, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.3% on the previous year and down 2.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest land — share in land area in Laos peaked at 62.39 % in 1990 and was at its lowest, 56.64 %, in 2024.
That places Laos 50th out of 249 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Forest land — Share in Land area in Laos, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 62.39 % | — |
| 1991 | 62.24 % | -0.2% |
| 1992 | 62.09 % | -0.2% |
| 1993 | 61.93 % | -0.3% |
| 1994 | 61.78 % | -0.2% |
| 1995 | 61.63 % | -0.2% |
| 1996 | 61.48 % | -0.2% |
| 1997 | 61.33 % | -0.2% |
| 1998 | 61.18 % | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 61.03 % | -0.2% |
| 2000 | 60.88 % | -0.2% |
| 2001 | 60.71 % | -0.3% |
| 2002 | 60.54 % | -0.3% |
| 2003 | 60.37 % | -0.3% |
| 2004 | 60.2 % | -0.3% |
| 2005 | 60.03 % | -0.3% |
| 2006 | 59.86 % | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 59.69 % | -0.3% |
| 2008 | 59.53 % | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 59.36 % | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 59.19 % | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 58.94 % | -0.4% |
| 2012 | 58.68 % | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 58.43 % | -0.4% |
| 2014 | 58.18 % | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 57.93 % | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 57.79 % | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 57.65 % | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 57.52 % | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 57.38 % | -0.2% |
| 2020 | 57.25 % | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 57.09 % | -0.3% |
| 2022 | 56.94 % | -0.3% |
| 2023 | 56.79 % | -0.3% |
| 2024 | 56.64 % | -0.3% |
Laos compared with similar countries
- Laos's 56.64 % is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 23.45 %, 2.4× the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Laos's 56.64 % is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 50.67 %, 1.1× the median. (31 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 61.71 % | 61.03 % | 62.39 % | 10 |
| 2000s | 60.12 % | 59.36 % | 60.88 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 58.17 % | 57.38 % | 59.19 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 56.94 % | 56.64 % | 57.25 % | 5 |
Countries ranked near Laos
More environment data for Laos
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -1.77 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -1.51 Percentage change (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.9142 % 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 0.4183 % 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)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), annual 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per unit of 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest land — share in land area in Laos?
- Forest land — share in land area in Laos was 56.64 % in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest forest land — share in land area recorded in Laos?
- The highest recorded value was 62.39 % in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest land — share in land area recorded in Laos?
- The lowest recorded value was 56.64 % in 2024.
- How does Laos rank for forest land — share in land area?
- Laos ranks 50th out of 249 countries with data for 2024.
- Is forest land — share in land area rising or falling in Laos?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Laos 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.