Forest area in Least developed countries
Least developed countries: Forest area was 25.6% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Forest area in Least developed countries, 1990–2023
Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in % of land area.
Analysis
Least developed countries recorded 25.6% for forest area in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 34 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.7% on the previous year and down 6.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in Least developed countries peaked at 34.9% in 1990 and was at its lowest, 25.6%, in 2023.
That places Least developed countries 34th out of 45 groups with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 34 years of available data.
Forest area in Least developed countries, year by year
| Year | % of land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 34.9% | — |
| 1991 | 34.7% | -0.4% |
| 1992 | 34.6% | -0.4% |
| 1993 | 33.4% | -3.3% |
| 1994 | 33.3% | -0.5% |
| 1995 | 33.1% | -0.5% |
| 1996 | 33.0% | -0.5% |
| 1997 | 32.8% | -0.5% |
| 1998 | 32.7% | -0.5% |
| 1999 | 32.5% | -0.5% |
| 2000 | 32.4% | -0.5% |
| 2001 | 32.2% | -0.5% |
| 2002 | 32.0% | -0.5% |
| 2003 | 31.9% | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 31.4% | -1.3% |
| 2005 | 31.3% | -0.5% |
| 2006 | 31.1% | -0.5% |
| 2007 | 31.0% | -0.5% |
| 2008 | 30.8% | -0.5% |
| 2009 | 30.6% | -0.5% |
| 2010 | 30.5% | -0.5% |
| 2011 | 30.3% | -0.7% |
| 2012 | 27.7% | -8.5% |
| 2013 | 27.5% | -0.7% |
| 2014 | 27.3% | -0.7% |
| 2015 | 27.1% | -0.7% |
| 2016 | 26.9% | -0.7% |
| 2017 | 26.7% | -0.7% |
| 2018 | 26.5% | -0.7% |
| 2019 | 26.3% | -0.7% |
| 2020 | 26.2% | -0.7% |
| 2021 | 26.0% | -0.7% |
| 2022 | 25.8% | -0.7% |
| 2023 | 25.6% | -0.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 33.5% | 32.5% | 34.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 31.5% | 30.6% | 32.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 27.7% | 26.3% | 30.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 25.9% | 25.6% | 26.2% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Least developed countries
More agriculture & rural data for Least developed countries
- Rural population, per capita 0.6336 units per person (2025)
- Rural population 769.36 million (2025)
- Rural population growth 1.5% (2025)
- Rural population 63.4% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.2% (2019)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 3.1% (2023)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 277.75 current US$ per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 8.67 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.2039 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 337.24 billion current US$ (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest area in Least developed countries?
- Forest area in Least developed countries was 25.6% in 2023, according to FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
- What is the highest forest area recorded in Least developed countries?
- The highest recorded value was 34.9% in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in Least developed countries?
- The lowest recorded value was 25.6% in 2023.
- How does Least developed countries rank for forest area?
- Least developed countries ranks 34th out of 45 groups with data for 2023.
- Is forest area rising or falling in Least developed countries?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Least developed countries 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.