Forest land — Share in Land area in World
World: Forest land — Share in Land area was 31.85 % in 2024. ▬ Flat
Forest land — Share in Land area in World, 1990–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
World recorded 31.85 % for forest land — share in land area in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.1% on the previous year and down 0.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest land — share in land area in World peaked at 33.31 % in 1990 and was at its lowest, 31.85 %, in 2024.
That places World 16th out of 32 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
Forest land — Share in Land area in World, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 33.31 % | — |
| 1991 | 33.23 % | -0.2% |
| 1992 | 33.26 % | +0.1% |
| 1993 | 33.18 % | -0.2% |
| 1994 | 33.1 % | -0.2% |
| 1995 | 33.02 % | -0.2% |
| 1996 | 32.93 % | -0.3% |
| 1997 | 32.83 % | -0.3% |
| 1998 | 32.76 % | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 32.68 % | -0.2% |
| 2000 | 32.58 % | -0.3% |
| 2001 | 32.55 % | -0.1% |
| 2002 | 32.52 % | -0.1% |
| 2003 | 32.5 % | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 32.43 % | -0.2% |
| 2005 | 32.4 % | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 32.38 % | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 32.35 % | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 32.33 % | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 32.3 % | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 32.27 % | -0.1% |
| 2011 | 32.24 % | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 32.18 % | -0.2% |
| 2013 | 32.15 % | -0.1% |
| 2014 | 32.12 % | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 32.09 % | -0.1% |
| 2016 | 32.06 % | -0.1% |
| 2017 | 32.04 % | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 32.01 % | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 31.99 % | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 31.96 % | -0.1% |
| 2021 | 31.96 % | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 31.92 % | -0.1% |
| 2023 | 31.88 % | -0.1% |
| 2024 | 31.85 % | -0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 33.03 % | 32.68 % | 33.31 % | 10 |
| 2000s | 32.43 % | 32.3 % | 32.58 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 32.11 % | 31.99 % | 32.27 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 31.91 % | 31.85 % | 31.96 % | 5 |
Countries ranked near World
- 13 Papua New Guinea 75.15 % compare
- 14 Guinea-Bissau 74.82 % compare
- 15 Vanuatu 74.64 % compare
- 16 Melanesia 74.5 % compare
- 17 Finland 74.15 % compare
- 18 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 73.42 % compare
- 19 Niue 72.86 % compare
More environment data for World
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -3.5 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -2.99 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.208 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.88 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 4.53 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 1.27 % 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 0.2123 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest land — share in land area in World?
- Forest land — share in land area in World was 31.85 % in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest forest land — share in land area recorded in World?
- The highest recorded value was 33.31 % in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest land — share in land area recorded in World?
- The lowest recorded value was 31.85 % in 2024.
- How does World rank for forest land — share in land area?
- World ranks 16th out of 32 groups with data for 2024.
- Is forest land — share in land area rising or falling in World?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this World 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.