Primary Forest — Area in Northern America

Northern America: Primary Forest — Area was 244,832 1000 ha in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
244,832 1000 ha
Change on year
up 22.2%
Rank
7th
of 35 groups
All-time high
244,832 1000 ha
in 2025
All-time low
200,316 1000 ha
in 2020
Years of data
36
1990–2025

Primary Forest — Area in Northern America, 1990–2025

050.0k100.0k150.0k200.0k250.0k1990200720251990: 222.7k 1000 ha1991: 222.7k 1000 ha1992: 222.7k 1000 ha1993: 222.7k 1000 ha1994: 222.7k 1000 ha1995: 222.7k 1000 ha1996: 222.7k 1000 ha1997: 222.7k 1000 ha1998: 222.7k 1000 ha1999: 222.7k 1000 ha2000: 222.7k 1000 ha2001: 221.4k 1000 ha2002: 220.1k 1000 ha2003: 218.8k 1000 ha2004: 217.4k 1000 ha2005: 216.1k 1000 ha2006: 214.8k 1000 ha2007: 213.5k 1000 ha2008: 212.2k 1000 ha2009: 210.9k 1000 ha2010: 209.5k 1000 ha2011: 208.2k 1000 ha2012: 206.9k 1000 ha2013: 205.6k 1000 ha2014: 204.3k 1000 ha2015: 202.9k 1000 ha2016: 202.4k 1000 ha2017: 201.9k 1000 ha2018: 201.4k 1000 ha2019: 200.8k 1000 ha2020: 200.3k 1000 ha2021: 200.3k 1000 ha2022: 200.3k 1000 ha2023: 200.3k 1000 ha2024: 200.3k 1000 ha2025: 244.8k 1000 ha

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

Analysis

In 2025, primary forest — area in Northern America stood at 244,832 1000 ha. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 22.2% on the previous year and up 20.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, primary forest — area in Northern America peaked at 244,832 1000 ha in 2025 and was at its lowest, 200,316 1000 ha, in 2020.

Northern America ranks 7th of 35 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 222,708 1000 ha 222,708 1000 ha 222,708 1000 ha 10
2000s 216,781 1000 ha 210,853 1000 ha 222,708 1000 ha 10
2010s 204,399 1000 ha 200,843 1000 ha 209,536 1000 ha 10
2020s 207,735 1000 ha 200,316 1000 ha 244,832 1000 ha 6

Countries ranked near Northern America

  1. 4 Canada 200,316 1000 ha compare
  2. 5 Democratic Republic of the Congo 100,216 1000 ha compare
  3. 6 Indonesia 46,648 1000 ha compare
  4. 7 Peru 38,281 1000 ha compare
  5. 8 Mexico 33,046 1000 ha compare
  6. 9 Angola 24,663 1000 ha compare
  7. 10 Melanesia 21,424 1000 ha compare

See the full ranking of 204 places →

More environment data for Northern America

All data for Northern America →

Frequently asked questions

What is primary forest — area in Northern America?
Primary forest — area in Northern America was 244,832 1000 ha in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest primary forest — area recorded in Northern America?
The highest recorded value was 244,832 1000 ha in 2025.
What is the lowest primary forest — area recorded in Northern America?
The lowest recorded value was 200,316 1000 ha in 2020.
How does Northern America rank for primary forest — area?
Northern America ranks 7th out of 35 groups with data for 2025.
Is primary forest — area rising or falling in Northern America?
Over the last ten years it is up 20.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Northern 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.