Forest area in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Forest area was 79.0% in 2023. ▬ Flat
Forest area in Papua New Guinea, 1990–2023
Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in % of land area.
Analysis
In 2023, forest area in Papua New Guinea stood at 79.0%. That is the lowest value across all 34 years on record.
The figure is down 0.1% on the previous year and down 0.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in Papua New Guinea peaked at 80.4% in 1990 and was at its lowest, 79.0%, in 2023.
Papua New Guinea ranks 9th of 214 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
Forest area in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | % of land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 80.4% | — |
| 1991 | 80.4% | -0.0% |
| 1992 | 80.3% | -0.0% |
| 1993 | 80.3% | -0.0% |
| 1994 | 80.3% | -0.0% |
| 1995 | 80.2% | -0.0% |
| 1996 | 80.2% | -0.0% |
| 1997 | 80.2% | -0.0% |
| 1998 | 80.2% | -0.0% |
| 1999 | 80.1% | -0.0% |
| 2000 | 80.1% | -0.0% |
| 2001 | 80.1% | -0.0% |
| 2002 | 80.1% | -0.0% |
| 2003 | 80.0% | -0.0% |
| 2004 | 80.0% | -0.0% |
| 2005 | 80.0% | -0.0% |
| 2006 | 80.0% | -0.0% |
| 2007 | 80.0% | -0.0% |
| 2008 | 79.9% | -0.0% |
| 2009 | 79.9% | -0.0% |
| 2010 | 79.9% | -0.0% |
| 2011 | 79.8% | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 79.8% | -0.1% |
| 2013 | 79.7% | -0.1% |
| 2014 | 79.6% | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 79.5% | -0.1% |
| 2016 | 79.5% | -0.1% |
| 2017 | 79.4% | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 79.3% | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 79.3% | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 79.2% | -0.1% |
| 2021 | 79.1% | -0.1% |
| 2022 | 79.0% | -0.1% |
| 2023 | 79.0% | -0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 80.3% | 80.1% | 80.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 80.0% | 79.9% | 80.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 79.6% | 79.3% | 79.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 79.1% | 79.0% | 79.2% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
- 6 Guyana 87.1% compare
- 7 Equatorial Guinea 86.4% compare
- 8 American Samoa 85.2% compare
- 10 Liberia 78.1% compare
- 11 Finland 73.7% compare
- 12 Seychelles 73.3% compare
More agriculture & rural data for Papua New Guinea
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 0.3264 % change on previous year (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.1702 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 495.76 current US$ per person (2024)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1.31 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0003 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.8422 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 17.0% (2024)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 17.0% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.6% (2023)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.5% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest area in Papua New Guinea?
- Forest area in Papua New Guinea was 79.0% in 2023, according to FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
- What is the highest forest area recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 80.4% in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 79.0% in 2023.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for forest area?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 9th out of 214 countries with data for 2023.
- Is forest area rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea 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.