Which has higher forest area, China or United States?

United States, at 3.09 million sq. km against 2.27 million sq. km in China as of 2025.

What is the difference in forest area between China and United States?

817,420 sq. km, with United States ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States?

36 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2025.

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.

China vs United States: Forest area (sq. km)

China

2.27 million sq. km

in 2025

United States

3.09 million sq. km

in 2025

China rank

5th

United States rank

4th

Forest area (sq. km) over time

China
United States

How they compare

United States currently reports 3.09 million sq. km against 2.27 million sq. km in China, a difference of 817,420 sq. km.

That makes United States's figure about 1.4 times China's.

Across all 36 years both countries report, United States has been ahead every year.

China ranks 5th and United States ranks 4th of 214 countries.

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

Head to head by decade

Decade	China	United States	Difference	Ahead
1990s	1.66 million sq. km	3.03 million sq. km	1.37 million sq. km	United States
2000s	1.88 million sq. km	3.06 million sq. km	1.18 million sq. km	United States
2010s	2.09 million sq. km	3.10 million sq. km	1.00 million sq. km	United States
2020s	2.23 million sq. km	3.09 million sq. km	859,495 sq. km	United States

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher forest area, China or United States?: United States, at 3.09 million sq. km against 2.27 million sq. km in China as of 2025.
What is the difference in forest area between China and United States?: 817,420 sq. km, with United States ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States?: 36 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2025.
How do China and United States rank globally for forest area?: China ranks 5th and United States ranks 4th of 214 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.

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China vs United States: Forest area. Statizoid, drawing on FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Retrieved 24 October 2026, from https://agriculture.statizoid.com/compare/forest-area-sq-km/china/united-states/

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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: 262 places, 9,089 data points, 1990–2025
Last refreshed: 15 October 2026

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.