Forest land — Share in Land area in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Forest land — Share in Land area was 13.5 % in 2024. ▲ Rising
Forest land — Share in Land area in United Kingdom, 1990–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, forest land — share in land area in United Kingdom stood at 13.5 %. That is the highest value across all 35 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and up 4.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest land — share in land area in United Kingdom peaked at 13.5 % in 2024 and was at its lowest, 11.48 %, in 1990.
That places United Kingdom 177th 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 United Kingdom, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 11.48 % | — |
| 1991 | 11.56 % | +0.7% |
| 1992 | 11.63 % | +0.6% |
| 1993 | 11.7 % | +0.6% |
| 1994 | 11.77 % | +0.6% |
| 1995 | 11.85 % | +0.7% |
| 1996 | 11.92 % | +0.6% |
| 1997 | 11.99 % | +0.6% |
| 1998 | 12.06 % | +0.6% |
| 1999 | 12.14 % | +0.7% |
| 2000 | 12.21 % | +0.6% |
| 2001 | 12.25 % | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 12.3 % | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 12.34 % | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 12.38 % | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 12.43 % | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 12.47 % | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 12.51 % | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 12.56 % | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 12.6 % | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 12.64 % | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 12.72 % | +0.6% |
| 2012 | 12.8 % | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 12.88 % | +0.6% |
| 2014 | 12.96 % | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 13.04 % | +0.6% |
| 2016 | 13.09 % | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 13.14 % | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 13.19 % | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 13.24 % | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 13.29 % | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 13.34 % | +0.4% |
| 2022 | 13.39 % | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 13.45 % | +0.4% |
| 2024 | 13.5 % | +0.4% |
United Kingdom compared with similar countries
- United Kingdom's 13.5 % is below the median for high income countries, which is 34.12 %, 40% of the median. (78 countries reporting)
- United Kingdom's 13.5 % is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 32.85 %, 41% of the median. (53 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 11.81 % | 11.48 % | 12.14 % | 10 |
| 2000s | 12.4 % | 12.21 % | 12.6 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.97 % | 12.64 % | 13.24 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 13.39 % | 13.29 % | 13.5 % | 5 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
- 174 Bangladesh 14.4 % compare
- 175 Lebanon 13.8 % compare
- 176 Norfolk Island 13.61 % compare
- 177 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 13.5 % compare
- 179 Haiti 13.45 % compare
- 180 Sudan (former) 13.28 % compare
More environment data for United Kingdom
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -3.13 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -7.25 Percentage change (2025)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -0.9496 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e) -2.57 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) (Mt CO2e), annual 0.1556 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest land — share in land area in United Kingdom?
- Forest land — share in land area in United Kingdom was 13.5 % in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest forest land — share in land area recorded in United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 13.5 % in 2024.
- What is the lowest forest land — share in land area recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.48 % in 1990.
- How does United Kingdom rank for forest land — share in land area?
- United Kingdom ranks 177th out of 249 countries with data for 2024.
- Is forest land — share in land area rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United Kingdom 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.