Forest area in South Asia

Forests covered 25.6% of the land area of South Asia in 2023. The value for 2023 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 2023 Source: World Bank
South Asia is a group: World Bank region. The value is the aggregate published by World Bank, not an average calculated on this site.
South Asia, 2023 25.6% % of land area
Change from 2022 +0.1percentage points 2022: 25.5%
World, 2023 31.1% Official aggregate

Forest area in South Asia over time

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South Asia 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 2023
Period South AsiaWorld
2023 25.6% 31.1%
2022 25.5% 31.1%
2021 25.4% 31.2%
2020 25.3% 31.2%
2019 25.3% 31.2%
2018 25.2% 31.3%
2017 25.1% 31.3%
2016 25.0% 31.3%
2015 25.0% 31.4%
2014 24.9% 31.4%
2013 24.8% 31.4%
2012 24.7% 31.5%
2011 24.6% 31.9%
2010 24.5% 31.9%
2009 24.5% 32.0%
2008 24.4% 32.0%
2007 24.4% 32.1%
2006 24.3% 32.1%
2005 24.2% 32.1%
2004 24.2% 32.2%
2003 24.1% 32.3%
2002 24.0% 32.3%
2001 24.0% 32.3%
2000 23.9% 32.4%

A dash means no value was published for that period.

In short

  • That is a change of +0.1 percentage points from 25.5% in 2022.
  • Since 2013, when it was 24.8%, the figure has changed by +0.8 percentage points.
  • The figure for the world in 2023 was 31.1%.

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 2023 for South Asia
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)