Forest area in Australia
Australia: Forest area was 1.34 million sq. km in 2023. ▬ Flat
Forest area in Australia, 1990–2023
Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in sq. km.
Analysis
Australia recorded 1.34 million sq. km for forest area in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in Australia peaked at 1.34 million sq. km in 2016 and was at its lowest, 1.30 million sq. km, in 2010.
That places Australia 6th out of 214 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.33 million sq. km | 1.32 million sq. km | 1.34 million sq. km | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.31 million sq. km | 1.30 million sq. km | 1.32 million sq. km | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.32 million sq. km | 1.30 million sq. km | 1.34 million sq. km | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.34 million sq. km | 1.34 million sq. km | 1.34 million sq. km | 4 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More agriculture & rural data for Australia
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.7% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.5% (2025)
- Rural population 12.3% (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.6% (2025)
- Rural population 3.39 million (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 2.3% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 40.76 billion current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 19.46 million hectares (2024)
- Cereal yield 2,690 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal production 52.35 million metric tons (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest area in Australia?
- Forest area in Australia was 1.34 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 Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 1.34 million sq. km in 2016.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.30 million sq. km in 2010.
- How does Australia rank for forest area?
- Australia ranks 6th out of 214 countries with data for 2023.
- Is forest area rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Australia 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.