Brazil vs China: Forest area

Brazil
4.93 million sq. km
in 2023
China
2.26 million sq. km
in 2023
Brazil rank
2nd
China rank
5th

Forest area over time

  • Brazil
  • China
2.0M3.0M4.0M5.0M6.0M199020062023

How they compare

Brazil currently reports 4.93 million sq. km against 2.26 million sq. km in China, a difference of 2.67 million sq. km.

That makes Brazil's figure about 2.2 times China's.

Across all 34 years both countries report, Brazil has been ahead every year.

Brazil ranks 2nd and China ranks 5th of 213 countries.

Brazil has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Brazil China Difference Ahead
1990s 5.72 million sq. km 1.66 million sq. km 4.06 million sq. km Brazil
2000s 5.33 million sq. km 1.88 million sq. km 3.46 million sq. km Brazil
2010s 5.05 million sq. km 2.09 million sq. km 2.95 million sq. km Brazil
2020s 4.95 million sq. km 2.23 million sq. km 2.72 million sq. km Brazil

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher forest area, Brazil or China?
Brazil, at 4.93 million sq. km against 2.26 million sq. km in China as of 2023.
What is the difference in forest area between Brazil and China?
2.67 million sq. km, with Brazil ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Brazil and China?
34 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2023.
How do Brazil and China rank globally for forest area?
Brazil ranks 2nd and China ranks 5th of 213 countries.
Where does this data come from?
FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), published as Forest area (sq. km). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Forest area (sq. km)
Unit
sq. km
Source
FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
261 places, 8,639 data points, 1990–2023
Last refreshed

Forest area is land under natural or planted stands of trees of at least 5 meters in situ, whether productive or not, and excludes tree stands in agricultural production systems (for example, in fruit plantations and agroforestry systems) and trees in urban parks and gardens.