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. Source: Food and Agriculture Organization

Countries and territories

All areas are given in units of 1000 hectares. Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Share of national land which is forest

The percentage of each country's land which is forested was published by the Food and Agriculture Organization in 2020 and is expected to be updated in 2025 and every 5 years after that. This data can be downloaded in bulk from Our World in Data. Some countries have more recent statistics, for example the share of forest in Turkey is mentioned in that article.

Sources

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