Forest area in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Forest area was 60.4% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Forest area in Costa Rica, 1990–2023
Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in % of land area.
Analysis
Costa Rica recorded 60.4% for forest area in 2023. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.5% on the previous year and up 5.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in Costa Rica peaked at 60.4% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 56.0%, in 2000.
Costa Rica ranks 27th of 214 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Forest area in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % of land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 56.9% | — |
| 1991 | 56.8% | -0.2% |
| 1992 | 56.7% | -0.2% |
| 1993 | 56.6% | -0.2% |
| 1994 | 56.5% | -0.2% |
| 1995 | 56.4% | -0.2% |
| 1996 | 56.4% | -0.2% |
| 1997 | 56.3% | -0.2% |
| 1998 | 56.2% | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 56.1% | -0.2% |
| 2000 | 56.0% | -0.2% |
| 2001 | 56.0% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 56.0% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 56.0% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 56.1% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 56.1% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 56.1% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 56.1% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 56.2% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 56.2% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 56.2% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 56.6% | +0.6% |
| 2012 | 56.9% | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 57.2% | +0.6% |
| 2014 | 57.5% | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 57.8% | +0.6% |
| 2016 | 58.2% | +0.6% |
| 2017 | 58.5% | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 58.8% | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 59.1% | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 59.4% | +0.5% |
| 2021 | 59.8% | +0.5% |
| 2022 | 60.1% | +0.5% |
| 2023 | 60.4% | +0.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 56.5% | 56.1% | 56.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 56.1% | 56.0% | 56.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 57.7% | 56.2% | 59.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 59.9% | 59.4% | 60.4% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
- 24 Timor-Leste 61.7% compare
- 25 Montenegro 61.5% compare
- 26 Slovenia 61.2% compare
- 28 Zambia 59.5% compare
- 29 Brazil 59.0% compare
- 30 United States Virgin Islands 58.2% compare
More agriculture & rural data for Costa Rica
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 4.56 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0337 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 672.15 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -1.57 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.2027 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 3.4% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 3.4% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.1% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.0% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest area in Costa Rica?
- Forest area in Costa Rica was 60.4% in 2023, according to FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
- What is the highest forest area recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 60.4% in 2023.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 56.0% in 2000.
- How does Costa Rica rank for forest area?
- Costa Rica ranks 27th out of 214 countries with data for 2023.
- Is forest area rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica 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.