This is a list of countries and territories of the world according to the total area covered by forests, based on data published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). In 2010, the world had 3.92 billion hectares (ha) of tree cover, extending over 30% of its land area.
In 2020, the world had a total forest area of 4.06 billion ha, which was 31 percent of the total land area. This area is equivalent to 0.52 ha per person – although forests are not distributed equally among the world's people or geographically. The tropical domain has the largest proportion of the world's forests (45 percent), followed by the boreal, temperate and subtropical domains. More than half (54 percent) of the world's forests is in only five countries – the Russian Federation (20.1%), Brazil (12.2%), Canada (8.6%), the United States of America (7.6%) and China (5.4%).
Many of the world's forests are being damaged and degraded or are disappearing altogether. Their capacity to provide tangible goods, such as fiber, food, and medicines, as well as essential ecological services, including habitat for biodiversity, carbon storage, and moderation of freshwater flows, is under greater threat than ever before. According to World Resource Institute in Washington, between 2000 and 2020 the world lost 101 million hectares (Mha) of tree cover, mostly tropical and subtropical forests (92%). The FAO is compiling a new global assessment due to be published in 2025.
Planet, continents and regions All areas are given in units of 1000 hectares (approximately ). Source: Food and Agriculture Organization
Region 1990 2000 2010 2020haacrehaacrehaacrehaacre World Asia (including Russia) South America North America and Central America Africa Europe (excluding Russia) Oceania
Countries and territories
Data are for the year 2022 and are from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Location Land Forest %forestkm2sq mikm2sq mi 30.6% 96.6% 94.5% 93.5% 92.1% 91.2% 90.4% 90.1% 86.7% 85.4% 79.0% 78.5% 74.5% 73.7% 73.3% 73.2% 72.7% 72.1% 71.6% 71.6% 69.8% 68.7% 68.4% 65.0% 64.2% 64.2% 63.8% 63.1% 61.8% 61.5% 61.3% 61.1% 60.1% 59.8% 59.1% 57.9% 57.8% 57.7% 57.1% 56.5% 56.5% 56.2% 56.1% 55.8% 55.0% 54.9% 54.7% 53.0% 52.9% 52.8% 52.7% 52.5% 52.3% 52.2% 52.1% 51.9% 50.9% 50.6% 49.8% 49.8% 49.7% 49.7% 48.0% 47.2% 47.2% 46.5% 46.1% 45.8% 44.9% 44.8% 44.3% 44.3% 43.9% 43.3% 43.1% 42.8% 42.8% 42.7% 42.3% 41.9% 41.6% 41.6% 41.5% 40.6% 40.1% 39.7% 39.6% 39.5% 39.3% 38.8% 37.7% 37.7% 37.2% 36.3% 36.2% 36.1% 35.7% 35.2% 35.2% 34.7% 34.7% 34.6% 34.5% 34.1% 34.0% 34.0% 33.9% 33.7% 33.5% 33.3% 32.7% 32.7% 32.7% 32.4% 32.3% 31.8% 31.2% 31.1% 30.3% 30.1% 29.3% 29.1% 28.8% 27.7% 26.9% 26.7% 26.5% 25.0% 24.9% 24.8% 24.8% 24.4% 24.3% 24.1% 23.8% 23.4% 22.9% 22.8% 22.6% 22.5% 22.4% 22.1% 21.3% 21.2% 19.5% 18.7% 18.5% 18.2% 17.4% 17.2% 16.7% 16.7% 15.8% 15.0% 14.7% 14.5% 14.1% 14.0% 14.0% 13.3% 12.9% 12.4% 12.4% 12.3% 11.8% 11.8% 11.5% 11.5% 11.5% 11.3% 11.3% 11.2% 11.1% 11.0% 10.9% 10.9% 10.9% 10.4% 9.6% 9.3% 9.1% 8.8% 8.7% 8.5% 8.5% 8.2% 7.9% 7.0% 6.6% 6.5% 6.3% 6.1% 5.9% 5.2% 5.1% 5.1% 4.7% 4.5% 4.5% 3.2% 3.1% 2.8% 2.7% 2.5% 2.3% 1.9% 1.9% 1.7% 1.5% 1.4% 1.3% 1.1% 1.1% 1.0% 0.9% 0.8% 0.8% 0.5% 0.5% 0.4% 0.3% 0.3% 0.2% 0.1% 0.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
See also
Deforestation by continent Forest cover by state and territory in the United States Forest cover by state in India Forest cover by federal subject in Russia Forest cover by province or territory in Canada Forest Landscape Integrity Index Forest restoration Reforestation
Sources This article incorporates text from Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. See c:File:Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 – Key findings.pdf. .
References
External links Global Forest Resources Assessment at FAO Forest data at FAO