Countries by Total Forest Area 2025

About This Dataset

Countries ranked by total forested land area in 2025, measured in millions of hectares according to FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment. Russia possesses the largest total forest area of any country on Earth by a wide margin — its boreal taiga stretches across Siberia in an almost unbroken band from the Ural Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, covering over 800 million hectares and representing approximately 20% of the world's total forest cover. These forests play an outsized role in the global carbon cycle, store enormous quantities of permafrost carbon, and support biodiversity corridors that have no equivalent elsewhere in the Northern Hemisphere, making their preservation a matter of planetary rather than merely national significance.

Analysis

The stark contrast in forest area among the leading countries reveals significant ecological implications. Russia's 815 million hectares represent nearly 20% of the world's total forest cover, emphasizing its critical role in global carbon storage and biodiversity. Brazil, while second with 497 million hectares, faces ongoing deforestation challenges that threaten its Amazon rainforest. Canada, with 347 million hectares, benefits from stable forest management practices, while the U.S. (310 million hectares) and China (220 million hectares) show a trend of increasing reforestation efforts. The data suggests that while some countries are making strides in forest conservation, others like Indonesia (92 million hectares) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (126 million hectares) may struggle to protect their forests amidst economic pressures.

Source: Wikipedia

Key Findings

🏆

Russia leads in Total Forest Area (Million Hectares) with 815 in 2025.

📊

Average Total Forest Area (Million Hectares) in 2025: 318 · median: 265.

↔️

Gap in 2025: Russia is 8.9× larger than Indonesia.

Countries by Total Forest Area 2025

Bar

H-Bar

Line

Area

🗺 Map

Table

Data Insights Below

Data Insights

Numbers, trends & sources behind this chart

Admin

⬡

Data Points

8 categories · 1 year

↑

Top Value

815

Russia

Total Forest Area (Million Hectares) · 2025

◈

Metrics

Total Forest Area (Million Hectares)

◷

Period

2025

Single year snapshot

Methodology & source

Data source: Wikipedia
Coverage: 8 entities · 2025 · 8 observations
Measure: Total Forest Area (Million Hectares)
Last updated: 3 August 2026
Compiled by: The ANYSTAT team, from the source above

How the figures are calculated

Values are shown as reported by the source. Nothing is rescaled, rebased or converted — the only changes are thousand separators and decimals shown to two places.
Entities are ranked highest-first on their value in 2025.