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

5.24 million sq. km, with Russia ahead.

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

34 years are reported by both, from 1992 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.

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

Russia

8.33 million sq. km

in 2025

United States

3.09 million sq. km

in 2025

Russia rank

1st

United States rank

4th

Forest area (sq. km) over time

Russia
United States

How they compare

Russia currently reports 8.33 million sq. km against 3.09 million sq. km in United States, a difference of 5.24 million sq. km.

That makes Russia's figure about 2.7 times United States's.

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

Russia ranks 1st and United States ranks 4th of 214 countries.

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

Head to head by decade

Decade	Russia	United States	Difference	Ahead
1990s	8.12 million sq. km	3.03 million sq. km	5.09 million sq. km	Russia
2000s	8.17 million sq. km	3.06 million sq. km	5.11 million sq. km	Russia
2010s	8.24 million sq. km	3.10 million sq. km	5.14 million sq. km	Russia
2020s	8.31 million sq. km	3.09 million sq. km	5.21 million sq. km	Russia

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher forest area, Russia or United States?: Russia, at 8.33 million sq. km against 3.09 million sq. km in United States as of 2025.
What is the difference in forest area between Russia and United States?: 5.24 million sq. km, with Russia ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Russia and United States?: 34 years are reported by both, from 1992 to 2025.
How do Russia and United States rank globally for forest area?: Russia ranks 1st 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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Russia 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/russian-federation/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.