Forest area in Bhutan
Bhutan: Forest area was 71.6% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Forest area in Bhutan, 1990–2023
Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in % of land area.
Analysis
The most recent figure for forest area in Bhutan is 71.6%, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
The figure is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 0.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in Bhutan peaked at 71.6% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 53.7%, in 1990.
Bhutan ranks 15th of 213 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Forest area in Bhutan, year by year
| Year | % of land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 53.7% | — |
| 1991 | 53.9% | +0.4% |
| 1992 | 54.1% | +0.4% |
| 1993 | 54.3% | +0.4% |
| 1994 | 64.0% | +17.9% |
| 1995 | 64.2% | +0.4% |
| 1996 | 64.5% | +0.4% |
| 1997 | 64.7% | +0.4% |
| 1998 | 65.0% | +0.4% |
| 1999 | 65.2% | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 65.5% | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 65.7% | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 66.0% | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 66.2% | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 69.4% | +4.8% |
| 2005 | 69.7% | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 69.9% | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 70.2% | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 70.5% | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 70.7% | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 71.0% | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 71.0% | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 71.1% | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 71.1% | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 71.2% | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 71.2% | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 71.2% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 71.3% | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 71.3% | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 71.4% | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 71.4% | +0.1% |
| 2021 | 71.5% | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 71.6% | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 71.6% | +0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 60.4% | 53.7% | 65.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 68.4% | 65.5% | 70.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 71.2% | 71.0% | 71.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 71.5% | 71.4% | 71.6% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Bhutan
- 12 Seychelles 73.3% compare
- 13 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 73.2% compare
- 14 Brunei Darussalam 72.1% compare
- 16 Lao People's Democratic Republic 71.5% compare
- 17 Guinea-Bissau 69.5% compare
- 18 Sweden 68.7% compare
More agriculture & rural data for Bhutan
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 3.41 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.1368 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 614.64 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.8653 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.5657 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 13.7% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 13.7% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.8% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest area in Bhutan?
- Forest area in Bhutan was 71.6% in 2023, according to FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
- What is the highest forest area recorded in Bhutan?
- The highest recorded value was 71.6% in 2023.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in Bhutan?
- The lowest recorded value was 53.7% in 1990.
- How does Bhutan rank for forest area?
- Bhutan ranks 15th out of 213 countries with data for 2023.
- Is forest area rising or falling in Bhutan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bhutan data come from?
- The figures come from FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), published as part of Forest area (% of land area). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Forest area (% of land area) is the share of total land area that is 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.