Forest area in Latin America & Caribbean
Latin America & Caribbean: Forest area was 46.1% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Forest area in Latin America & Caribbean, 1990–2023
Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in % of land area.
Analysis
In 2023, forest area in Latin America & Caribbean stood at 46.1%. That is the lowest value across all 34 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.3% on the previous year and down 2.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in Latin America & Caribbean peaked at 53.3% in 1990 and was at its lowest, 46.1%, in 2023.
Latin America & Caribbean ranks 6th of 47 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 34 years of available data.
Forest area in Latin America & Caribbean, year by year
| Year | % of land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 53.3% | — |
| 1991 | 53.0% | -0.5% |
| 1992 | 52.8% | -0.5% |
| 1993 | 52.5% | -0.5% |
| 1994 | 52.2% | -0.5% |
| 1995 | 51.9% | -0.5% |
| 1996 | 51.7% | -0.5% |
| 1997 | 51.4% | -0.5% |
| 1998 | 51.2% | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 50.9% | -0.5% |
| 2000 | 50.7% | -0.5% |
| 2001 | 50.4% | -0.5% |
| 2002 | 50.1% | -0.5% |
| 2003 | 49.8% | -0.6% |
| 2004 | 49.6% | -0.6% |
| 2005 | 49.3% | -0.6% |
| 2006 | 49.0% | -0.6% |
| 2007 | 48.7% | -0.6% |
| 2008 | 48.4% | -0.6% |
| 2009 | 48.2% | -0.6% |
| 2010 | 47.9% | -0.6% |
| 2011 | 47.8% | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 47.6% | -0.3% |
| 2013 | 47.5% | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 47.3% | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 47.2% | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 47.0% | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 46.9% | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 46.7% | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 46.6% | -0.3% |
| 2020 | 46.5% | -0.3% |
| 2021 | 46.3% | -0.3% |
| 2022 | 46.2% | -0.3% |
| 2023 | 46.1% | -0.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 52.1% | 50.9% | 53.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 49.4% | 48.2% | 50.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 47.3% | 46.6% | 47.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 46.3% | 46.1% | 46.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Latin America & Caribbean
- 3 Gabon 91.2% compare
- 4 Palau 90.5% compare
- 5 Solomon Islands 90.1% compare
- 6 Guyana 87.1% compare
- 7 Equatorial Guinea 86.4% compare
- 8 American Samoa 85.2% compare
- 9 Papua New Guinea 79.0% compare
More agriculture & rural data for Latin America & Caribbean
- Rural population, per capita 0.1849 units per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 6.8% (2025)
- Rural population 123.28 million (2025)
- Rural population growth -0.6% (2025)
- Rural population 18.5% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.8% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.3% (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 754.45 current US$ per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 7.47 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.068 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest area in Latin America & Caribbean?
- Forest area in Latin America & Caribbean was 46.1% in 2023, according to FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
- What is the highest forest area recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
- The highest recorded value was 53.3% in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
- The lowest recorded value was 46.1% in 2023.
- How does Latin America & Caribbean rank for forest area?
- Latin America & Caribbean ranks 6th out of 47 groups with data for 2023.
- Is forest area rising or falling in Latin America & Caribbean?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Latin America & Caribbean 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.