Primary Forest — Area in South America
South America: Primary Forest — Area was 298,609 1000 ha in 2025. ▼ Falling
Primary Forest — Area in South America, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.
Analysis
South America recorded 298,609 1000 ha for primary forest — area in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.3% on the previous year and down 3.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, primary forest — area in South America peaked at 342,405 1000 ha in 1990 and was at its lowest, 298,609 1000 ha, in 2025.
South America ranks 6th of 31 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.
Primary Forest — Area in South America, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 342,405 1000 ha | — |
| 1991 | 341,082 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1992 | 339,760 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1993 | 338,437 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1994 | 337,115 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1995 | 335,792 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1996 | 334,470 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1997 | 333,147 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1998 | 331,825 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 330,502 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 329,180 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2001 | 327,571 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2002 | 325,963 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2003 | 324,355 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 322,747 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2005 | 321,138 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2006 | 319,530 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2007 | 317,922 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2008 | 316,314 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2009 | 314,705 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2010 | 313,097 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2011 | 312,284 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 311,472 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2013 | 310,659 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 309,847 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 309,034 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 307,897 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2017 | 306,760 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 305,623 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 304,486 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2020 | 303,349 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2021 | 302,401 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2022 | 301,453 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2023 | 300,505 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2024 | 299,557 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2025 | 298,609 1000 ha | -0.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 336,454 1000 ha | 330,502 1000 ha | 342,405 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 321,942 1000 ha | 314,705 1000 ha | 329,180 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 309,116 1000 ha | 304,486 1000 ha | 313,097 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 300,979 1000 ha | 298,609 1000 ha | 303,349 1000 ha | 6 |
Countries ranked near South America
More environment data for South America
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -6.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.98 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.218 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.23 °C (2025)
- Roundwood — Production 477.72 million m3 (2024)
- Roundwood, non-coniferous — Production 379.32 million m3 (2024)
- Roundwood, coniferous — Production 98.40 million m3 (2024)
- Roundwood — Export value 589,290 1000 USD (2024)
- Roundwood — Export quantity 4.28 million m3 (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is primary forest — area in South America?
- Primary forest — area in South America was 298,609 1000 ha in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest primary forest — area recorded in South America?
- The highest recorded value was 342,405 1000 ha in 1990.
- What is the lowest primary forest — area recorded in South America?
- The lowest recorded value was 298,609 1000 ha in 2025.
- How does South America rank for primary forest — area?
- South America ranks 6th out of 31 groups with data for 2025.
- Is primary forest — area rising or falling in South America?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South 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
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.