Share of global forest area in India
India: Share of global forest area was 1.8% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of global forest area in India, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, share of global forest area in India stood at 1.8%. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.2% on the previous year and up 3.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of global forest area in India peaked at 1.8% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1.5%, in 1990.
India ranks 9th 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 of global forest area in India, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 1.5% | — |
| 1991 | 1.5% | +0.8% |
| 1992 | 1.5% | +0.8% |
| 1993 | 1.5% | +0.8% |
| 1994 | 1.5% | +0.8% |
| 1995 | 1.5% | +0.8% |
| 1996 | 1.5% | +0.8% |
| 1997 | 1.6% | +0.8% |
| 1998 | 1.6% | +0.8% |
| 1999 | 1.6% | +0.8% |
| 2000 | 1.6% | +0.8% |
| 2001 | 1.6% | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 1.6% | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 1.6% | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 1.6% | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 1.6% | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 1.6% | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 1.6% | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 1.6% | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 1.6% | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 1.7% | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 1.7% | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 1.7% | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 1.7% | +0.5% |
| 2014 | 1.7% | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 1.7% | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 1.7% | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 1.7% | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 1.7% | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 1.7% | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 1.7% | +0.5% |
| 2021 | 1.7% | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 1.7% | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 1.7% | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 1.8% | +0.2% |
| 2025 | 1.8% | +0.2% |
India compared with similar countries
- India's 1.8% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.1%, 18.7× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- India's 1.8% is above the median for South Asia, which is 0.1%, 30.3× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.5% | 1.5% | 1.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.6% | 1.6% | 1.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.7% | 1.7% | 1.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.7% | 1.7% | 1.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near India
More environment data for India
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 11.05 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 12.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.254 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.954 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 3.92 % 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 1.12 % 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 India?
- Share of global forest area in India was 1.8% 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 India?
- The highest recorded value was 1.8% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of global forest area recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.5% in 1990.
- How does India rank for share of global forest area?
- India ranks 9th out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of global forest area rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this India 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.