Which has higher forest area, Malaysia or Nigeria?

Nigeria, at 211,370 sq. km against 189,636 sq. km in Malaysia as of 2023.

What is the difference in forest area between Malaysia and Nigeria?

21,734 sq. km, with Nigeria ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Malaysia and Nigeria?

34 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2023.

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.

Malaysia vs Nigeria: Forest area

Malaysia

189,636 sq. km

in 2023

Nigeria

211,370 sq. km

in 2023

Malaysia rank

32nd

Nigeria rank

29th

Forest area over time

Malaysia
Nigeria

How they compare

Nigeria currently reports 211,370 sq. km against 189,636 sq. km in Malaysia, a difference of 21,734 sq. km.

That makes Nigeria's figure about 1.1 times Malaysia's.

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

Malaysia ranks 32nd and Nigeria ranks 29th of 213 countries.

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

Head to head by decade

Decade	Malaysia	Nigeria	Difference	Ahead
1990s	202,013 sq. km	257,912 sq. km	55,899 sq. km	Nigeria
2000s	193,567 sq. km	241,582 sq. km	48,015 sq. km	Nigeria
2010s	192,193 sq. km	225,251 sq. km	33,058 sq. km	Nigeria
2020s	190,388 sq. km	213,820 sq. km	23,432 sq. km	Nigeria

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher forest area, Malaysia or Nigeria?: Nigeria, at 211,370 sq. km against 189,636 sq. km in Malaysia as of 2023.
What is the difference in forest area between Malaysia and Nigeria?: 21,734 sq. km, with Nigeria ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Malaysia and Nigeria?: 34 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2023.
How do Malaysia and Nigeria rank globally for forest area?: Malaysia ranks 32nd and Nigeria ranks 29th 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: 06 August 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.