Data
Share of land covered by forest
What you should know about this indicator
- This indicator shows the share of a country’s land area that is covered by forest. It includes both natural forests and forest plantations, where that distinction is available.
- For 1990 onwards, data comes from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which uses a consistent global definition: forest is land with tree canopy cover greater than 10%, spanning more than 0.5 hectares, with trees that can reach at least 5 metres in height. It includes plantations but excludes land where other uses (such as agriculture or urban development) dominate (FAO definition).
- We linearly interpolate the data for the years between the FAO FRA data points, which are typically given every 5 years.
- For years prior to 1990, the data is drawn from historical estimates published by sources including the USDA Forest Service, DEFRA, Forest Research, and others. These estimates typically rely on older maps, land surveys, and expert reconstructions.
- Where possible, pre-1990 estimates include both natural forests and plantations to match the FAO’s definition. However, definitions and methods vary by source and country, and users should interpret older data points with some caution.
- The details for the historical estimates are provided below:
- China (1000-1960): He et al. (2025): Reconstructing forest and grassland cover changes in China over the past millennium
- Costa Rica (1940-1969): Kleinn et al. (2002): Forest area in Costa Rica: A comparative study of tropical forest cover estimates over time
- England (1086-1650): Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) report: Government Forestry and Woodlands Policy Statement
- England (1870-1980): Forest Research report: National inventory of woodland and trees
- England (2019): Scottish Government report: Scotland's Forestry Strategy: 2019-2029
- France (1000-1976): Mather et al. (1999): The course and drivers of the forest transition in France
- Japan (1600-1985): Saito, O. (2009): Forest history and the Great Divergence: China, Japan, and the West compared
- Philippines (1934-1988): Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) report: One century of forest rehabilitation in the Philippines
- Scotland (1600-1750): Mather, A.S. (2008)
- Scotland (1870-1988): Forest Research report: National inventory of woodland and trees
- Scotland (2019): Scottish Government report: Scotland's Forestry Strategy: 2019-2029
- South Korea (1948-1980): Bae J.S. et al. (2012) Forest transition in South Korea: Reality, path and drivers
- Taiwan (1904-1982): Chen Y et al (2019) Reconstructing Taiwan’s land cover changes between 1904 and 2015 from historical maps and satellite images
- United States (1630-1907): U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service (USDA FS) report: U.S. Forest Facts and Historical Trends
- United States (1920-1987): U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service (USDA FS) report (2014): U.S. Forest Resource Facts and Historical Trends
- Vietnam (1943-1985): Forest Science Institute of Vietnam (FSIV) and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) report: Vietnam Forestry Outlook Study
Share of land covered by forest
The share of land area covered by forest, including both natural forests and forest plantations.
Source
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (2013); Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (2009); Forest Research (2002); Mather A.S., Fairbairn J., and Needle C.J. (1999); Osamu Saito (2009); Yi-Ying Chen et al. (2019); A.S. Mather (2008); Kleinn, C., Corrales, L., & Morales, D. (2002); Soo Bae J., Won Joo, R. and Kim, Y.S. (2012); United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (2014); He, F., Yang, F, & Wang, Y. (2024); Scottish Government (2019); Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Last updated
May 9, 2025
Next expected update
May 2026
Date range
1000–2020
Unit
%
Sources and processing
This data is based on the following sources
How we process data at Our World in Data
All data and visualizations on Our World in Data rely on data sourced from one or several original data providers. Preparing this original data involves several processing steps. Depending on the data, this can include standardizing country names and world region definitions, converting units, calculating derived indicators such as per capita measures, as well as adding or adapting metadata such as the name or the description given to an indicator.
At the link below you can find a detailed description of the structure of our data pipeline, including links to all the code used to prepare data across Our World in Data.
Notes on our processing step for this indicator
This variable is a combination of historical sources of forest cover data from various organizations, including FAO, USDA Forest Service, DEFRA, Forest Research and others; and more recent data from the FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) data and the total land area variable from the FAO Land Use data. FAO FRA data is used for the 1990 onwards, while historical data is sourced from various papers and reports.
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Citations
How to cite this page
To cite this page overall, including any descriptions, FAQs or explanations of the data authored by Our World in Data, please use the following citation:
“Data Page: Share of land covered by forest”, part of the following publication: Hannah Ritchie, Fiona Spooner, and Max Roser (2021) - “Forests and Deforestation”. Data adapted from Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Forest Research, Mather A.S., Fairbairn J., and Needle C.J., Osamu Saito, Yi-Ying Chen et al., A.S. Mather, Kleinn, C., Corrales, L., & Morales, D., Soo Bae J., Won Joo, R. and Kim, Y.S., United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, He, F., Yang, F, & Wang, Y., Scottish Government, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved from https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/forest-area-as-share-of-land-area [online resource]How to cite this data
In-line citationIf you have limited space (e.g. in data visualizations), you can use this abbreviated in-line citation:
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (2013) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in DataFull citation
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (2013); Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (2009); Forest Research (2002); Mather A.S., Fairbairn J., and Needle C.J. (1999); Osamu Saito (2009); Yi-Ying Chen et al. (2019); A.S. Mather (2008); Kleinn, C., Corrales, L., & Morales, D. (2002); Soo Bae J., Won Joo, R. and Kim, Y.S. (2012); United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (2014); He, F., Yang, F, & Wang, Y. (2024); Scottish Government (2019); Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. “Share of land covered by forest” [dataset]. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, “DEFRA - Government Forestry and Woodlands Policy Statement”; Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, “Vietnam Forestry Outlook Study”; Forest Research, “National inventory of woodland and trees”; Mather A.S., Fairbairn J., and Needle C.J., “The course and drivers of the forest transition: The case of France”; Osamu Saito, “Forest history and the Great Divergence: China, Japan, and the West compared”; Yi-Ying Chen et al., “Reconstructing Taiwan’s land cover changes between 1904 and 2015 from historical maps and satellite images”; A.S. Mather, “Forest transition theory and the reforesting of Scotland”; Kleinn, C., Corrales, L., & Morales, D., “Forest area in Costa Rica: A comparative study of tropical forest cover estimates over time”; Soo Bae J., Won Joo, R. and Kim, Y.S., “Forest transition in South Korea: Reality, path and drivers”; United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, “U.S. Forest Resource Facts and Historical Trends”; He, F., Yang, F, & Wang, Y., “Reconstructing forest and grassland cover changes in China over the past millennium”; Scottish Government, “Scotland's Forestry Strategy: 2019-2029”; Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, “Land, Inputs and Sustainability: Land Use” [original data]. Retrieved June 13, 2025 from https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/forest-area-as-share-of-land-area