Forest area in Ireland
Ireland: Forest area was 11.5% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Forest area in Ireland, 1990–2023
Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in % of land area.
Analysis
Ireland recorded 11.5% 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 7.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in Ireland peaked at 11.5% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 6.7%, in 1990.
Ireland ranks 156th of 213 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Forest area in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % of land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 6.7% | — |
| 1991 | 6.9% | +3.7% |
| 1992 | 7.2% | +3.5% |
| 1993 | 7.4% | +3.4% |
| 1994 | 7.7% | +3.3% |
| 1995 | 7.9% | +3.2% |
| 1996 | 8.2% | +3.1% |
| 1997 | 8.4% | +3.0% |
| 1998 | 8.7% | +2.9% |
| 1999 | 8.9% | +2.8% |
| 2000 | 9.2% | +2.8% |
| 2001 | 9.3% | +1.4% |
| 2002 | 9.4% | +1.4% |
| 2003 | 9.5% | +1.4% |
| 2004 | 9.7% | +1.4% |
| 2005 | 9.8% | +1.4% |
| 2006 | 9.9% | +1.3% |
| 2007 | 10.1% | +1.3% |
| 2008 | 10.2% | +1.3% |
| 2009 | 10.3% | +1.3% |
| 2010 | 10.5% | +1.3% |
| 2011 | 10.6% | +1.0% |
| 2012 | 10.7% | +0.9% |
| 2013 | 10.8% | +0.9% |
| 2014 | 10.9% | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 11.0% | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 11.1% | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 11.2% | +1.0% |
| 2018 | 11.2% | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 11.3% | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 11.4% | +0.5% |
| 2021 | 11.4% | +0.5% |
| 2022 | 11.5% | +0.5% |
| 2023 | 11.5% | +0.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 7.8% | 6.7% | 8.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 9.7% | 9.2% | 10.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 10.9% | 10.5% | 11.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 11.4% | 11.4% | 11.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
- 153 Moldova 11.7% compare
- 154 Armenia 11.6% compare
- 155 Cape Verde 11.6% compare
- 157 South Sudan 11.3% compare
- 158 Rwanda 11.3% compare
- 159 Turks and Caicos Islands 11.1% compare
More agriculture & rural data for Ireland
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 22.64 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0106 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 1,391 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.9559 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3541 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 1.1% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 1.1% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.3% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.5% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest area in Ireland?
- Forest area in Ireland was 11.5% in 2023, according to FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
- What is the highest forest area recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 11.5% in 2023.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.7% in 1990.
- How does Ireland rank for forest area?
- Ireland ranks 156th out of 213 countries with data for 2023.
- Is forest area rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ireland 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.