Forest certified for sustainable use in Canada
Canada: Forest certified for sustainable use was 163.52 million thousands of hectares in 2024. ▲ Rising
Forest certified for sustainable use in Canada, 1990–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in thousands of hectares.
Analysis
The most recent figure for forest certified for sustainable use in Canada is 163.52 million thousands of hectares, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of up 4.5% on the previous year and down 0.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest certified for sustainable use in Canada peaked at 170.99 million thousands of hectares in 2018 and was at its lowest, 0 thousands of hectares, in 1990.
That places Canada 1st out of 246 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 14 years of available data.
Forest certified for sustainable use in Canada, year by year
| Year | thousands of hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 0 thousands of hectares | — |
| 2000 | 33,280 thousands of hectares | — |
| 2005 | 111.57 million thousands of hectares | +335158.4% |
| 2010 | 148.44 million thousands of hectares | +33.0% |
| 2015 | 164.26 million thousands of hectares | +10.7% |
| 2016 | 167.71 million thousands of hectares | +2.1% |
| 2017 | 169.28 million thousands of hectares | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 170.99 million thousands of hectares | +1.0% |
| 2019 | 166.77 million thousands of hectares | -2.5% |
| 2020 | 160.08 million thousands of hectares | -4.0% |
| 2021 | 164.83 million thousands of hectares | +3.0% |
| 2022 | 158.53 million thousands of hectares | -3.8% |
| 2023 | 156.50 million thousands of hectares | -1.3% |
| 2024 | 163.52 million thousands of hectares | +4.5% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Forest certified for sustainable use in Canada changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | +335158.4% | 33,280 thousands of hectares | 111.57 million thousands of hectares |
| 2010 | +33.0% | 111.57 million thousands of hectares | 148.44 million thousands of hectares |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0 thousands of hectares | 0 thousands of hectares | 0 thousands of hectares | 1 |
| 2000s | 55.80 million thousands of hectares | 33,280 thousands of hectares | 111.57 million thousands of hectares | 2 |
| 2010s | 164.57 million thousands of hectares | 148.44 million thousands of hectares | 170.99 million thousands of hectares | 6 |
| 2020s | 160.69 million thousands of hectares | 156.50 million thousands of hectares | 164.83 million thousands of hectares | 5 |
Countries ranked near Canada
More environment data for Canada
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -2.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -6.76 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.642 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.96 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 2.9 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 1.7 % 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 -0.3398 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest certified for sustainable use in Canada?
- Forest certified for sustainable use in Canada was 163.52 million thousands of hectares in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest forest certified for sustainable use recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 170.99 million thousands of hectares in 2018.
- What is the lowest forest certified for sustainable use recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 thousands of hectares in 1990.
- How does Canada rank for forest certified for sustainable use?
- Canada ranks 1st out of 246 countries with data for 2024.
- Is forest certified for sustainable use rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Canada data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Forest certified for sustainable use. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Forest area certified under an independently verified certification scheme (thousands of hectares).