Forest Area Statistics 2023: Key Facts, Trends & Charts

Page updated: June 2026 · Data year: 2023 · 2026 data pending release · Source: World Bank, Eurostat

This page compiles the most important forest area statistics for 2023 worldwide. This page covers data from 51 countries, Data is sourced from the World Bank, Eurostat, and peer-reviewed research — all fully open and citable. Charts, ranked tables, and key facts are updated automatically as new data becomes available.

Key Forest Area Statistics (2023)

94.4%
Suriname — Forest area (% of land)
31.2%
Global average — Forest area (% of land)

Key Findings: Forest Area Statistics — 2023 (most recent available — 2026 figures not yet published by World Bank/Eurostat) Data

The latest data shows Suriname, Micronesia, Fed. Sts., Gabon lead globally for forest area (% of land), with the highest recorded value of 94.4%. At the other end of the scale, World, World, World record the lowest rates among the countries surveyed.

Forest area (% of land) by Country (2023)Forest area (% of land) by Country (2023) Suriname 94.4% Micronesia, Fed. Sts. 92.2% Gabon 91.2% Palau 90.5% Solomon Islands 90.1% Guyana 87.1% Equatorial Guinea 86.4% American Samoa 85.2% Papua New Guinea 79.0% Liberia 78.1% Finland 73.7% Seychelles 73.3% St. Vincent and the Gr… 73.2% Brunei Darussalam 72.1% Bhutan 71.6% Lao PDR 71.5% Guinea-Bissau 69.5% Sweden 68.7% Japan 68.4% Congo, Rep. 64.1%
Global Forest area (% of land) TrendGlobal Forest area (% of land) Trend32.3%32.0%31.7%31.4%31.1%20032006200920122015201820212022World

Forest area (% of land) by Country — Ranked Table

#CountryForest area (% of land)Year
1Suriname94.4%2023
2Micronesia, Fed. Sts.92.2%2023
3Gabon91.2%2023
4Palau90.5%2023
5Solomon Islands90.1%2023
6Guyana87.1%2023
7Equatorial Guinea86.4%2023
8American Samoa85.2%2023
9Papua New Guinea79.0%2023
10Liberia78.1%2023
11Finland73.7%2023
12Seychelles73.3%2023
13St. Vincent and the Grenadines73.2%2023
14Brunei Darussalam72.1%2023
15Bhutan71.6%2023
16Lao PDR71.5%2023
17Guinea-Bissau69.5%2023
18Sweden68.7%2023
19Japan68.4%2023
20Congo, Rep.64.1%2023
21Korea, Rep.64.1%2023
22Dominica63.8%2023
23Fiji63.5%2023
24Timor-Leste61.7%2023
25Montenegro61.5%2023
26Slovenia61.2%2023
27Costa Rica60.4%2023
28Zambia59.5%2023
29Brazil59.0%2023
30Virgin Islands (U.S.)58.2%2023

Methodology

All statistics on this page are sourced from open-licensed public datasets. World Bank data is available under CC BY 4.0. Eurostat data is published under the Eurostat copyright notice permitting free reuse. Manual statistics are sourced from primary research publications and are cited inline. Data is refreshed automatically on a weekly basis. Where multiple years are available, the most recent complete year is shown unless otherwise noted.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the latest forest area statistics?

Based on the most recent data compiled by Statsipedia, we've gathered statistics from authoritative sources including the World Bank, Eurostat, and leading research institutions. See the key statistics section above for the most up-to-date figures.

When were these forest area statistics last updated?

This page was last updated in June 2026. The underlying data points may reflect different collection years — each statistic is labelled with its source year.

Where does the forest area statistics data come from?

Our statistics are sourced from publicly available datasets including the World Bank Open Data platform (CC BY 4.0), Eurostat, and peer-reviewed research. All sources are cited inline and linked to the original publication.

Can I use these forest area statistics in my research or content?

Yes. We source data from open-license datasets (CC BY 4.0). Please attribute Statsipedia and the original data source. For commercial use, check the license of each individual source.

Sources & Methodology

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