Primary Forest — Area in Central America

Central America: Primary Forest — Area was 34,242 1000 ha in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
34,242 1000 ha
Change on year
down 0.2%
Rank
18th
of 35 groups
All-time high
42,539 1000 ha
in 1990
All-time low
34,242 1000 ha
in 2025
Years of data
36
1990–2025

Primary Forest — Area in Central America, 1990–2025

010.0k20.0k30.0k40.0k1990200720251990: 42.5k 1000 ha1991: 42.0k 1000 ha1992: 41.5k 1000 ha1993: 41.0k 1000 ha1994: 40.5k 1000 ha1995: 40.0k 1000 ha1996: 39.5k 1000 ha1997: 39.0k 1000 ha1998: 38.4k 1000 ha1999: 37.9k 1000 ha2000: 37.4k 1000 ha2001: 37.2k 1000 ha2002: 37.0k 1000 ha2003: 36.7k 1000 ha2004: 36.5k 1000 ha2005: 36.3k 1000 ha2006: 36.0k 1000 ha2007: 35.8k 1000 ha2008: 35.6k 1000 ha2009: 35.4k 1000 ha2010: 35.1k 1000 ha2011: 35.1k 1000 ha2012: 35.0k 1000 ha2013: 35.0k 1000 ha2014: 34.9k 1000 ha2015: 34.8k 1000 ha2016: 34.8k 1000 ha2017: 34.7k 1000 ha2018: 34.7k 1000 ha2019: 34.6k 1000 ha2020: 34.6k 1000 ha2021: 34.5k 1000 ha2022: 34.4k 1000 ha2023: 34.4k 1000 ha2024: 34.3k 1000 ha2025: 34.2k 1000 ha

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.

Analysis

The most recent figure for primary forest — area in Central America is 34,242 1000 ha, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.

The figure is down 0.2% on the previous year and down 1.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, primary forest — area in Central America peaked at 42,539 1000 ha in 1990 and was at its lowest, 34,242 1000 ha, in 2025.

Central America ranks 18th of 35 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 40,237 1000 ha 37,936 1000 ha 42,539 1000 ha 10
2000s 36,393 1000 ha 35,362 1000 ha 37,424 1000 ha 10
2010s 34,870 1000 ha 34,628 1000 ha 35,133 1000 ha 10
2020s 34,410 1000 ha 34,242 1000 ha 34,578 1000 ha 6

Countries ranked near Central America

  1. 16 Congo 12,931 1000 ha compare
  2. 17 India 11,904 1000 ha compare
  3. 18 Suriname 9,701 1000 ha compare
  4. 19 Guyana 9,477 1000 ha compare
  5. 20 Chile 8,928 1000 ha compare
  6. 21 French Guiana 7,587 1000 ha compare

See the full ranking of 204 places →

More environment data for Central America

All data for Central America →

Frequently asked questions

What is primary forest — area in Central America?
Primary forest — area in Central America was 34,242 1000 ha in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest primary forest — area recorded in Central America?
The highest recorded value was 42,539 1000 ha in 1990.
What is the lowest primary forest — area recorded in Central America?
The lowest recorded value was 34,242 1000 ha in 2025.
How does Central America rank for primary forest — area?
Central America ranks 18th out of 35 groups with data for 2025.
Is primary forest — area rising or falling in Central America?
Over the last ten years it is down 1.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Central America data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Primary 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

Indicator
Primary Forest — Area
Unit
1000 ha
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
204 places, 7,156 data points, 1990–2025
Last refreshed

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.