Forest area in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Forest area was 34.0% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Forest area in Sri Lanka, 1990–2023
Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in % of land area.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 34.0% for forest area in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.1% on the previous year and up 0.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in Sri Lanka peaked at 37.5% in 1990 and was at its lowest, 33.5%, in 2010.
That places Sri Lanka 95th out of 213 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 34 years of available data.
Forest area in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % of land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 37.5% | — |
| 1991 | 37.2% | -0.8% |
| 1992 | 36.9% | -0.8% |
| 1993 | 36.6% | -0.8% |
| 1994 | 36.3% | -0.8% |
| 1995 | 36.0% | -0.8% |
| 1996 | 35.7% | -0.8% |
| 1997 | 35.4% | -0.8% |
| 1998 | 35.1% | -0.8% |
| 1999 | 34.8% | -0.8% |
| 2000 | 34.5% | -0.8% |
| 2001 | 34.4% | -0.3% |
| 2002 | 34.3% | -0.3% |
| 2003 | 34.2% | -0.3% |
| 2004 | 34.1% | -0.3% |
| 2005 | 34.0% | -0.3% |
| 2006 | 33.9% | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 33.8% | -0.3% |
| 2008 | 33.7% | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 33.6% | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 33.5% | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 33.6% | +0.2% |
| 2012 | 33.7% | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 33.8% | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 33.9% | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 34.4% | +1.6% |
| 2016 | 34.3% | -0.1% |
| 2017 | 34.3% | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 34.3% | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 34.2% | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 34.2% | -0.1% |
| 2021 | 34.1% | -0.1% |
| 2022 | 34.1% | -0.1% |
| 2023 | 34.0% | -0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 36.2% | 34.8% | 37.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 34.1% | 33.6% | 34.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 34.0% | 33.5% | 34.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 34.1% | 34.0% | 34.2% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
- 92 Sierra Leone 34.3% compare
- 93 Saint Lucia 34.0% compare
- 94 Andorra 34.0% compare
- 96 United States of America 33.9% compare
- 97 Mexico 33.6% compare
- 98 Norway 33.5% compare
More agriculture & rural data for Sri Lanka
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 9.1 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0836 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 418.3 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.9172 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.7955 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 8.4% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 8.4% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.7% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.9% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest area in Sri Lanka?
- Forest area in Sri Lanka was 34.0% in 2023, according to FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
- What is the highest forest area recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 37.5% in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 33.5% in 2010.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for forest area?
- Sri Lanka ranks 95th out of 213 countries with data for 2023.
- Is forest area rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sri Lanka 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.