Forest area in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)
Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income): Forest area was 8.77 million sq. km in 2023. ▼ Falling
Forest area in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income), 1990–2023
Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in sq. km.
Analysis
The most recent figure for forest area in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) is 8.77 million sq. km, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 34 years on record.
The figure is down 0.3% on the previous year and down 3.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) peaked at 10.27 million sq. km in 1990 and was at its lowest, 8.77 million sq. km, in 2023.
That places Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) 15th 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 34 years of available data.
Forest area in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income), year by year
| Year | sq. km | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 10.27 million sq. km | — |
| 1991 | 10.21 million sq. km | -0.5% |
| 1992 | 10.16 million sq. km | -0.5% |
| 1993 | 10.10 million sq. km | -0.5% |
| 1994 | 10.04 million sq. km | -0.5% |
| 1995 | 9.99 million sq. km | -0.6% |
| 1996 | 9.93 million sq. km | -0.6% |
| 1997 | 9.88 million sq. km | -0.6% |
| 1998 | 9.82 million sq. km | -0.6% |
| 1999 | 9.77 million sq. km | -0.6% |
| 2000 | 9.71 million sq. km | -0.6% |
| 2001 | 9.65 million sq. km | -0.6% |
| 2002 | 9.60 million sq. km | -0.6% |
| 2003 | 9.54 million sq. km | -0.6% |
| 2004 | 9.49 million sq. km | -0.6% |
| 2005 | 9.43 million sq. km | -0.6% |
| 2006 | 9.37 million sq. km | -0.6% |
| 2007 | 9.32 million sq. km | -0.6% |
| 2008 | 9.26 million sq. km | -0.6% |
| 2009 | 9.20 million sq. km | -0.6% |
| 2010 | 9.15 million sq. km | -0.6% |
| 2011 | 9.12 million sq. km | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 9.08 million sq. km | -0.3% |
| 2013 | 9.05 million sq. km | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 9.02 million sq. km | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 8.99 million sq. km | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 8.96 million sq. km | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 8.92 million sq. km | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 8.90 million sq. km | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 8.87 million sq. km | -0.3% |
| 2020 | 8.85 million sq. km | -0.3% |
| 2021 | 8.82 million sq. km | -0.3% |
| 2022 | 8.80 million sq. km | -0.3% |
| 2023 | 8.77 million sq. km | -0.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 10.02 million sq. km | 9.77 million sq. km | 10.27 million sq. km | 10 |
| 2000s | 9.46 million sq. km | 9.20 million sq. km | 9.71 million sq. km | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.01 million sq. km | 8.87 million sq. km | 9.15 million sq. km | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.81 million sq. km | 8.77 million sq. km | 8.85 million sq. km | 4 |
Countries ranked near Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)
- 12 Angola 649,422 sq. km compare
- 13 Colombia 585,441 sq. km compare
- 14 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 502,063 sq. km compare
- 15 Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of 460,729 sq. km compare
- 16 Tanzania, United Republic of 443,380 sq. km compare
- 17 Zambia 442,494 sq. km compare
- 18 Mozambique 360,265 sq. km compare
More agriculture & rural data for Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)
- Rural population, per capita 0.186 units per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 7.3% (2025)
- Rural population 116.59 million (2025)
- Rural population growth -0.6% (2025)
- Rural population 18.6% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.8% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 761.54 current US$ per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 7.97 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0732 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
All data for Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) →
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest area in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
- Forest area in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) was 8.77 million sq. km 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 (excluding high income)?
- The highest recorded value was 10.27 million sq. km in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.77 million sq. km in 2023.
- How does Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) rank for forest area?
- Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) ranks 15th out of 47 groups with data for 2023.
- Is forest area rising or falling in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) data come from?
- The figures come from FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), published as part of Forest area (sq. km). 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 is land 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.