Forest area in South Asia
South Asia: Forest area was 856,400 sq. km in 2023. ▲ Rising
Forest area in South Asia, 1990–2023
Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in sq. km.
Analysis
In 2023, forest area in South Asia stood at 856,400 sq. km. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
The figure is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 3.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in South Asia peaked at 856,400 sq. km in 2023 and was at its lowest, 763,882 sq. km, in 1990.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 780,429 sq. km | 763,882 sq. km | 796,976 sq. km | 10 |
| 2000s | 810,062 sq. km | 800,653 sq. km | 819,470 sq. km | 10 |
| 2010s | 833,748 sq. km | 821,561 sq. km | 845,794 sq. km | 10 |
| 2020s | 852,421 sq. km | 848,443 sq. km | 856,400 sq. km | 4 |
More agriculture & rural data for South Asia
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.0% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.6% (2024)
- Rural population 64.2% (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.4% (2025)
- Rural population 1.09 billion (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 15.6% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 714.12 billion current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 119.96 million hectares (2024)
- Cereal yield 3,814 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal production 457.55 million metric tons (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest area in South Asia?
- Forest area in South Asia was 856,400 sq. km in 2023, according to FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
- What is the highest forest area recorded in South Asia?
- The highest recorded value was 856,400 sq. km in 2023.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in South Asia?
- The lowest recorded value was 763,882 sq. km in 1990.
- Is forest area rising or falling in South Asia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Asia 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.