Forest area in Laos
Laos: Forest area was 164,920 sq. km in 2023. ▼ Falling
Forest area in Laos, 1990–2023
Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in sq. km.
Analysis
In 2023, forest area in Laos stood at 164,920 sq. km. That is the lowest value across all 34 years on record.
The figure is down 0.2% on the previous year and down 2.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in Laos peaked at 178,430 sq. km in 1990 and was at its lowest, 164,920 sq. km, in 2023.
Laos ranks 41st of 214 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 34 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 176,549 sq. km | 174,668 sq. km | 178,430 sq. km | 10 |
| 2000s | 172,070 sq. km | 169,890 sq. km | 174,250 sq. km | 10 |
| 2010s | 167,852 sq. km | 166,300 sq. km | 169,405 sq. km | 10 |
| 2020s | 165,438 sq. km | 164,920 sq. km | 165,955 sq. km | 4 |
Countries ranked near Laos
More agriculture & rural data for Laos
- Agricultural raw materials exports 10.3% (2023)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 4.6% (2023)
- Rural population 59.7% (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.1% (2025)
- Rural population 4.70 million (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 16.6% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 3.04 billion current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 1.02 million hectares (2024)
- Cereal yield 4,196 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal production 4.27 million metric tons (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest area in Laos?
- Forest area in Laos was 164,920 sq. km in 2023, according to FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
- What is the highest forest area recorded in Laos?
- The highest recorded value was 178,430 sq. km in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in Laos?
- The lowest recorded value was 164,920 sq. km in 2023.
- How does Laos rank for forest area?
- Laos ranks 41st out of 214 countries with data for 2023.
- Is forest area rising or falling in Laos?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Laos 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.