Forest area in Low & middle income
Low & middle income: Forest area was 27.7% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Forest area in Low & middle income, 1992–2023
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 Low & middle income is 27.7%, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 32 years on record.
The figure is down 0.2% on the previous year and down 2.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in Low & middle income peaked at 31.2% in 1992 and was at its lowest, 27.7%, in 2023.
That places Low & middle income 28th out of 47 groups with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 32 years of available data.
Forest area in Low & middle income, year by year
| Year | % of land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 31.2% | — |
| 1993 | 30.9% | -1.0% |
| 1994 | 30.8% | -0.4% |
| 1995 | 30.7% | -0.4% |
| 1996 | 30.6% | -0.4% |
| 1997 | 30.5% | -0.4% |
| 1998 | 30.4% | -0.3% |
| 1999 | 30.3% | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 30.2% | -0.5% |
| 2001 | 30.1% | -0.3% |
| 2002 | 30.0% | -0.3% |
| 2003 | 29.9% | -0.3% |
| 2004 | 29.7% | -0.5% |
| 2005 | 29.7% | -0.3% |
| 2006 | 29.6% | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 29.5% | -0.3% |
| 2008 | 29.4% | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 29.3% | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 29.2% | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 29.2% | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 28.5% | -2.3% |
| 2013 | 28.4% | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 28.3% | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 28.3% | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 28.2% | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 28.1% | -0.3% |
| 2018 | 28.1% | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 28.0% | -0.2% |
| 2020 | 27.9% | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 27.8% | -0.3% |
| 2022 | 27.8% | -0.2% |
| 2023 | 27.7% | -0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 30.7% | 30.3% | 31.2% | 8 |
| 2000s | 29.7% | 29.3% | 30.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 28.4% | 28.0% | 29.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 27.8% | 27.7% | 27.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Low & middle income
- 25 Montenegro 61.5% compare
- 26 Slovenia 61.2% compare
- 27 Costa Rica 60.4% compare
- 28 Zambia 59.5% compare
- 29 Brazil 59.0% compare
- 30 United States Virgin Islands 58.2% compare
- 31 Malaysia 57.7% compare
More agriculture & rural data for Low & middle income
- Rural population, per capita 0.4688 units per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 9.1% (2025)
- Rural population 3.18 billion (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.3% (2025)
- Rural population 46.9% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.8% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.2% (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 555.24 current US$ per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 3.44 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0909 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest area in Low & middle income?
- Forest area in Low & middle income was 27.7% in 2023, according to FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
- What is the highest forest area recorded in Low & middle income?
- The highest recorded value was 31.2% in 1992.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in Low & middle income?
- The lowest recorded value was 27.7% in 2023.
- How does Low & middle income rank for forest area?
- Low & middle income ranks 28th out of 47 groups with data for 2023.
- Is forest area rising or falling in Low & middle income?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Low & middle income 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 — 32 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.