Forest area in India

Forests covered 24.4% of the land area of India in 2024. The value for 2024 is the highest in the series, which starts in 1990.

Measure: Forest area as a share of land area Unit: % of land area Data: 1990 to 2024 Source: World Bank
India, 2024 24.4% % of land area
Change from 2023 0percentage points 2023: 24.4%
World, 2023 31.1% Official aggregate Not the same period as India (2024).
Median of G20 countries, 2024 32.8% Middle value of 19 countries
Position in 2024 120th of 209 See the full ranking

Forest area in India over time

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India World ×

% of land area. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. Gaps mean no published value; points are not joined across missing years.

Forest area as a share of land area (% of land area), 2000 to 2024
Period IndiaWorld
2024 24.4% –
2023 24.4% 31.1%
2022 24.4% 31.1%
2021 24.3% 31.2%
2020 24.3% 31.2%
2019 24.2% 31.2%
2018 24.1% 31.3%
2017 24.0% 31.3%
2016 23.9% 31.3%
2015 23.8% 31.4%
2014 23.7% 31.4%
2013 23.6% 31.4%
2012 23.6% 31.5%
2011 23.5% 31.9%
2010 23.4% 31.9%
2009 23.3% 32.0%
2008 23.2% 32.0%
2007 23.2% 32.1%
2006 23.1% 32.1%
2005 23.1% 32.1%
2004 23.0% 32.2%
2003 22.9% 32.3%
2002 22.9% 32.3%
2001 22.8% 32.3%
2000 22.7% 32.4%

A dash means no value was published for that period.

In short

  • That is a change of 0 percentage points from 24.4% in 2023.
  • Since 2014, when it was 23.7%, the figure has changed by +0.7 percentage points.
  • Among the 209 countries with data for 2024, India has the 120th highest value.

Source and dates

Original producer
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Distributed by
World Bank, World Development Indicators
Dataset or series code
AG.LND.FRST.ZS · dataset details · view at source
Observation period
1990 to 2024 for India
Provider update
8 October 2026
Retrieved
9 November 2026
Published here
9 November 2026
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (per series metadata)
Attribution
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators, original data: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)