Share of global forest area in Australia
Australia: Share of global forest area was 3.2% in 2025. ▬ Flat
Share of global forest area in Australia, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of global forest area in Australia is 3.2%, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
The figure is up 0.2% on the previous year and up 1.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of global forest area in Australia peaked at 3.2% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 3.1%, in 1990.
That places Australia 7th out of 235 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
Share of global forest area in Australia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 3.1% | — |
| 1991 | 3.1% | +0.1% |
| 1992 | 3.1% | +0.1% |
| 1993 | 3.1% | +0.1% |
| 1994 | 3.1% | +0.1% |
| 1995 | 3.1% | +0.1% |
| 1996 | 3.1% | +0.1% |
| 1997 | 3.1% | +0.1% |
| 1998 | 3.1% | +0.1% |
| 1999 | 3.1% | +0.1% |
| 2000 | 3.1% | +0.1% |
| 2001 | 3.1% | -0.0% |
| 2002 | 3.1% | -0.0% |
| 2003 | 3.1% | -0.0% |
| 2004 | 3.1% | -0.0% |
| 2005 | 3.1% | -0.0% |
| 2006 | 3.1% | -0.0% |
| 2007 | 3.1% | -0.0% |
| 2008 | 3.1% | -0.0% |
| 2009 | 3.1% | -0.0% |
| 2010 | 3.1% | -0.0% |
| 2011 | 3.1% | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 3.1% | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 3.2% | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 3.2% | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 3.2% | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 3.2% | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 3.2% | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 3.2% | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 3.2% | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 3.2% | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 3.2% | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 3.2% | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 3.2% | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 3.2% | +0.2% |
| 2025 | 3.2% | +0.2% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 3.2% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.0%, 306.3× the median. (83 countries reporting)
- Australia's 3.2% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.0%, 117.5× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3.1% | 3.1% | 3.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.1% | 3.1% | 3.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.2% | 3.1% | 3.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.2% | 3.2% | 3.2% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More environment data for Australia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.75 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.98 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.345 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.4 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.6708 % 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 0.0861 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of global forest area in Australia?
- Share of global forest area in Australia was 3.2% in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of global forest area recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 3.2% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of global forest area recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.1% in 1990.
- How does Australia rank for share of global forest area?
- Australia ranks 7th out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of global forest area rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of global forest area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of global forest area represents the proportion of a country's forest area relative to the total global forest area.