Share global forest in China
China: Share global forest was 5.49 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
5.49
Change on year
up 0.8%
World rank
5th
of 235 countries
All-time high
5.49
in 2025
All-time low
3.62
in 1990
Years of data
36
1990–2025
Share global forest in China, 1990–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share global forest in China is 5.49, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.8% on the previous year and up 9.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share global forest in China peaked at 5.49 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 3.62, in 1990.
China ranks 5th of 235 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Share global forest in China, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 3.62 | — |
| 1991 | 3.67 | +1.5% |
| 1992 | 3.73 | +1.5% |
| 1993 | 3.78 | +1.5% |
| 1994 | 3.84 | +1.5% |
| 1995 | 3.89 | +1.5% |
| 1996 | 3.95 | +1.4% |
| 1997 | 4.01 | +1.4% |
| 1998 | 4.06 | +1.4% |
| 1999 | 4.12 | +1.4% |
| 2000 | 4.18 | +1.4% |
| 2001 | 4.24 | +1.4% |
| 2002 | 4.3 | +1.4% |
| 2003 | 4.36 | +1.4% |
| 2004 | 4.42 | +1.4% |
| 2005 | 4.48 | +1.4% |
| 2006 | 4.54 | +1.3% |
| 2007 | 4.6 | +1.3% |
| 2008 | 4.66 | +1.3% |
| 2009 | 4.72 | +1.3% |
| 2010 | 4.78 | +1.3% |
| 2011 | 4.83 | +1.1% |
| 2012 | 4.88 | +1.1% |
| 2013 | 4.93 | +1.0% |
| 2014 | 4.98 | +1.0% |
| 2015 | 5.03 | +1.0% |
| 2016 | 5.08 | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 5.12 | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 5.17 | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 5.21 | +0.9% |
| 2020 | 5.26 | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 5.31 | +0.9% |
| 2022 | 5.35 | +0.9% |
| 2023 | 5.4 | +0.8% |
| 2024 | 5.44 | +0.8% |
| 2025 | 5.49 | +0.8% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 5.49 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.0554, 99.0× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- China's 5.49 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.0275, 199.9× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3.87 | 3.62 | 4.12 | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.45 | 4.18 | 4.72 | 10 |
| 2010s | 5 | 4.78 | 5.21 | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.37 | 5.26 | 5.49 | 6 |
Countries ranked near China
More environment data for China
- Grazing land use over the long-term, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per capita 0.2791 hectares per person (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.279 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.92 °C (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per square kilometre 41.82 hectares per square kilometre (2024)
- Sawnwood, coniferous — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 5.29 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.8065 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share global forest in China?
- Share global forest in China was 5.49 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share global forest recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 5.49 in 2025.
- What is the lowest share global forest recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.62 in 1990.
- How does China rank for share global forest?
- China ranks 5th out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share global forest rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Share global forest. 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).