Share of forest area within protected areas in Malaysia
Malaysia: Share of forest area within protected areas was 29.1% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of forest area within protected areas in Malaysia, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, share of forest area within protected areas in Malaysia stood at 29.1%. That is the highest value across all 10 years on record.
That represents a change of up 14.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of forest area within protected areas in Malaysia peaked at 29.1% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 11.0%, in 1990.
That places Malaysia 65th out of 197 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 10 years of available data.
Share of forest area within protected areas in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 11.0% | — |
| 2000 | 19.4% | +76.3% |
| 2010 | 21.5% | +11.1% |
| 2015 | 25.4% | +18.0% |
| 2016 | 16.3% | -35.9% |
| 2017 | 16.6% | +2.1% |
| 2018 | 17.0% | +2.0% |
| 2019 | 17.3% | +2.0% |
| 2020 | 26.5% | +53.1% |
| 2025 | 29.1% | +9.7% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 29.1% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 21.0%, 1.4× the median. (48 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 29.1% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 16.2%, 1.8× the median. (25 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 11.0% | 11.0% | 11.0% | 1 |
| 2000s | 19.4% | 19.4% | 19.4% | 1 |
| 2010s | 19.0% | 16.3% | 25.4% | 6 |
| 2020s | 27.8% | 26.5% | 29.1% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More environment data for Malaysia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -1.65 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -1.9 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.179 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.25 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate -2.55 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 4.33 % 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 0.9114 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of forest area within protected areas in Malaysia?
- Share of forest area within protected areas in Malaysia was 29.1% in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of forest area within protected areas recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 29.1% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of forest area within protected areas recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.0% in 1990.
- How does Malaysia rank for share of forest area within protected areas?
- Malaysia ranks 65th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of forest area within protected areas rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malaysia 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 Share of forest area within protected areas. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 10 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Proportion of forest area within legally established protected areas (%).