Naturally regenerating forest — Share in Forest land in Iceland
Iceland: Naturally regenerating forest — Share in Forest land was 19.53 % in 2025. ▼ Falling
Naturally regenerating forest — Share in Forest land in Iceland, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, naturally regenerating forest — share in forest land in Iceland stood at 19.53 %. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.
The figure is down 1.2% on the previous year and down 10.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, naturally regenerating forest — share in forest land in Iceland peaked at 58.62 % in 1990 and was at its lowest, 19.53 %, in 2025.
Iceland ranks 231st of 240 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.
Naturally regenerating forest — Share in Forest land in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 58.62 % | — |
| 1991 | 54.51 % | -7.0% |
| 1992 | 50.97 % | -6.5% |
| 1993 | 47.89 % | -6.0% |
| 1994 | 45.17 % | -5.7% |
| 1995 | 42.77 % | -5.3% |
| 1996 | 40.63 % | -5.0% |
| 1997 | 38.7 % | -4.8% |
| 1998 | 36.97 % | -4.5% |
| 1999 | 35.39 % | -4.3% |
| 2000 | 33.95 % | -4.1% |
| 2001 | 32.43 % | -4.5% |
| 2002 | 31.04 % | -4.3% |
| 2003 | 29.77 % | -4.1% |
| 2004 | 28.62 % | -3.9% |
| 2005 | 27.56 % | -3.7% |
| 2006 | 26.58 % | -3.6% |
| 2007 | 25.67 % | -3.4% |
| 2008 | 24.83 % | -3.3% |
| 2009 | 24.05 % | -3.1% |
| 2010 | 23.33 % | -3.0% |
| 2011 | 22.99 % | -1.5% |
| 2012 | 22.67 % | -1.4% |
| 2013 | 22.35 % | -1.4% |
| 2014 | 22.05 % | -1.3% |
| 2015 | 21.75 % | -1.4% |
| 2016 | 21.56 % | -0.9% |
| 2017 | 21.36 % | -0.9% |
| 2018 | 21.17 % | -0.9% |
| 2019 | 20.99 % | -0.9% |
| 2020 | 20.81 % | -0.9% |
| 2021 | 20.54 % | -1.3% |
| 2022 | 20.27 % | -1.3% |
| 2023 | 20.02 % | -1.2% |
| 2024 | 19.77 % | -1.2% |
| 2025 | 19.53 % | -1.2% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 19.53 % is below the median for high income countries, which is 93.53 %, 21% of the median. (74 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 19.53 % is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 74.76 %, 26% of the median. (49 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 45.16 % | 35.39 % | 58.62 % | 10 |
| 2000s | 28.45 % | 24.05 % | 33.95 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 22.02 % | 20.99 % | 23.33 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 20.16 % | 19.53 % | 20.81 % | 6 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
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 — share in forest land in Iceland?
- Naturally regenerating forest — share in forest land in Iceland was 19.53 % in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest naturally regenerating forest — share in forest land recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 58.62 % in 1990.
- What is the lowest naturally regenerating forest — share in forest land recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 19.53 % in 2025.
- How does Iceland rank for naturally regenerating forest — share in forest land?
- Iceland ranks 231st out of 240 countries with data for 2025.
- Is naturally regenerating forest — share in forest land rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- 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 — Share in Forest land. 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.