Naturally regenerating forest — Area in Iceland
Iceland: Naturally regenerating forest — Area was 12.01 1000 ha in 2025. ▲ Rising
Naturally regenerating forest — Area in Iceland, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.
Analysis
Iceland recorded 12.01 1000 ha for naturally regenerating forest — area in 2025. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.3% on the previous year and up 3.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, naturally regenerating forest — area in Iceland peaked at 12.01 1000 ha in 2025 and was at its lowest, 10.51 1000 ha, in 1990.
That places Iceland 208th out of 240 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Naturally regenerating forest — Area in Iceland, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 10.51 1000 ha | — |
| 1991 | 10.55 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1992 | 10.6 1000 ha | +0.5% |
| 1993 | 10.64 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1994 | 10.68 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 10.73 1000 ha | +0.5% |
| 1996 | 10.77 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1997 | 10.81 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1998 | 10.85 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1999 | 10.9 1000 ha | +0.5% |
| 2000 | 10.94 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 10.98 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 11.03 1000 ha | +0.5% |
| 2003 | 11.07 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 11.11 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 11.16 1000 ha | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 11.2 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 11.24 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 11.28 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 11.33 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 11.37 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 11.41 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 11.45 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 11.5 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 11.54 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 11.58 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 11.62 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 11.66 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 11.71 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 11.75 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 11.79 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 11.83 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 11.88 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 11.92 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2024 | 11.97 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2025 | 12.01 1000 ha | +0.3% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 12.01 1000 ha is below the median for high income countries, which is 405.13 1000 ha, 3% of the median. (74 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 12.01 1000 ha is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1,510 1000 ha, 1% of the median. (49 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 10.7 1000 ha | 10.51 1000 ha | 10.9 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 11.13 1000 ha | 10.94 1000 ha | 11.33 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 11.56 1000 ha | 11.37 1000 ha | 11.75 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 11.9 1000 ha | 11.79 1000 ha | 12.01 1000 ha | 6 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
- 205 Cook Islands 14.4 1000 ha compare
- 206 Cabo Verde 13.68 1000 ha compare
- 207 Cayman Islands 12.72 1000 ha compare
- 209 Saint Kitts and Nevis 11 1000 ha compare
- 210 Turks and Caicos Islands 10.52 1000 ha compare
- 211 Wallis and Futuna Islands 10.47 1000 ha compare
More environment data for Iceland
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 3.89 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.587 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.47 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.8549 % 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 -1.93 % 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is naturally regenerating forest — area in Iceland?
- Naturally regenerating forest — area in Iceland was 12.01 1000 ha in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest naturally regenerating forest — area recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 12.01 1000 ha in 2025.
- What is the lowest naturally regenerating forest — area recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.51 1000 ha in 1990.
- How does Iceland rank for naturally regenerating forest — area?
- Iceland ranks 208th out of 240 countries with data for 2025.
- Is naturally regenerating forest — area rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iceland data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Naturally regenerating forest — Area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 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.