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Countries Ranked by Forest area in 2020

Forest area for each country in 2020, ranked from highest to lowest. Source: The World Bank (CC BY 4.0).

Summary

In 2020, Russian Federation ranks #1 with 8.28 million km². That is 1.6 times Brazil in second place (5.02 million km²). The top five are Russian Federation, Brazil, Canada, United States and China. Together the top 10 account for 65.9% of the total across the 214 countries listed. The median across all 214 is 21,331 km²; Naoero is last at 0 km².

#1
Russian Federation · 8.28 million km²
Median
21,331 km²
Coverage
214 countries
Data year
2020
Last updated
2026-11-14
Top 10: Forest areaBar chart of the top 10: 1. Russian Federation 8.28 million; 2. Brazil 5.02 million; 3. Canada 3.69 million; 4. United States 3.09 million; 5. China 2.19 million; 6. Congo, Dem. Rep. 1.41 million; 7. Australia 1.33 million; 8. Indonesia 955,620; 9. India 723,090; 10. Peru 686,560.Russian Federation8.28 millionBrazil5.02 millionCanada3.69 millionUnited States3.09 millionChina2.19 millionCongo, Dem. Rep.1.41 millionAustralia1.33 millionIndonesia955,620India723,090Peru686,560
Top 10: Forest area (km²). Bar chart of the top 10: 1. Russian Federation 8.28 million; 2. Brazil 5.02 million; 3. Canada 3.69 million; 4. United States 3.09 million; 5. China 2.19 million; 6. Congo, Dem. Rep. 1.41 million; 7. Australia 1.33 million; 8. Indonesia 955,620; 9. India 723,090; 10. Peru 686,560.
Forest area over time, top 5Russian Federation: 8.12 million in 1996 to 8.28 million in 2020; Brazil: 5.84 million in 1996 to 5.02 million in 2020; Canada: 3.6 million in 1996 to 3.69 million in 2020; United States: 3.03 million in 1996 to 3.09 million in 2020; China: 1.69 million in 1996 to 2.19 million in 2020.02.07 million4.14 million6.21 million8.28 million199620082020Russian FederationBrazilCanadaUnited StatesChina
Forest area over time, top 5 (km²). Russian Federation: 8.12 million in 1996 to 8.28 million in 2020; Brazil: 5.84 million in 1996 to 5.02 million in 2020; Canada: 3.6 million in 1996 to 3.69 million in 2020; United States: 3.03 million in 1996 to 3.09 million in 2020; China: 1.69 million in 1996 to 2.19 million in 2020.
Share of the total: Forest areaRussian Federation 19.9%; Brazil 12.1%; Canada 8.9%; United States 7.4%; China 5.3%; All others 46.4%20%12%9%46%

Russian Federation 19.9%Brazil 12.1%Canada 8.9%United States 7.4%China 5.3%All others 46.4%

Share of the total: Forest area, as a share of 214 countries. Russian Federation 19.9%; Brazil 12.1%; Canada 8.9%; United States 7.4%; China 5.3%; All others 46.4%.

Full ranking

Countries Ranked by Forest area in 2020, 2020
RankCountryForest area (km²)
1Russian Federation8,284,300
2Brazil5,023,700
3Canada3,688,700
4United States3,092,600
5China2,191,000
6Congo, Dem. Rep.1,406,000
7Australia1,332,900
8Indonesia955,620
9India723,090
10Peru686,560
11Mexico669,040
12Angola658,120
13Colombia601,230
14Bolivia555,690
15Argentina474,960
16Venezuela, RB473,350
17Tanzania457,450
18Zambia453,600
19Central African Republic453,270
20Papua New Guinea340,480
21Mozambique335,780
22Myanmar285,440
23Sweden279,340
24Ethiopia267,670
25Japan249,190
26Gabon235,890
27Sudan228,510
28Finland225,430
29South Africa224,440
30Türkiye222,200
31Congo, Rep.217,840
32Thailand203,380
33Cameroon197,280
34Malaysia191,850
35Spain189,820
36Guyana184,150
37Chile181,860
38Nigeria177,640
39France173,480
40Botswana157,300
41Paraguay151,160
42Suriname147,650
43Viet Nam146,770
44Mongolia141,780
45Zimbabwe140,310
46Lao PDR132,130
47Ecuador124,610
48Norway121,210
49Germany114,570
50Mali109,820
51Iran, Islamic Rep.107,510
52Madagascar105,430
53New Zealand99,653
54Ukraine99,000
55Poland94,642
56Italy93,595
57Belarus88,431
58Senegal87,270
59Namibia80,462
60Cambodia78,768
61Korea, Dem. People's Rep.76,712
62Philippines72,264
63South Sudan71,525
64Romania69,291
65Ghana68,778
66Liberia65,294
67Korea, Rep.62,980
68Nepal61,834
69Honduras61,124
70Morocco56,938
71Somalia, Fed. Rep.52,095
72Guinea51,923
73Nicaragua48,913
74Greece47,628
75Panama46,297
76Chad42,509
77Côte d'Ivoire41,782
78Bulgaria38,960
79Austria38,898
80Burkina Faso38,363
81Uzbekistan36,890
82Cuba36,114
83Guatemala36,016
84Kenya35,915
85Kazakhstan34,510
86Latvia34,341
87Portugal33,344
88Benin33,202
89Serbia32,768
90United Kingdom32,150
91Georgia31,005
92Pakistan30,885
93Costa Rica29,721
94Czechia29,232
95Saudi Arabia27,681
96Bhutan27,172
97Sierra Leone25,349
98Solomon Islands25,176
99Uganda25,082
100Equatorial Guinea24,484

Showing the top 100 of 214. Premium downloads the full list as CSV or JSON.

About the top 10

#4 United States

United States ranks #4 on this list with 3.09 million km².

Capital
Washington, D.C.
Continent
North America
Income group
High income
Population
341.78 million people (2025)
GDP
US$30.77 trillion (2025)
GDP per person
US$90,027 (2025)
Life expectancy
78.9 years (2024)
Urban population
80.2% of population (2025)

Largest cities: New York metropolitan area, New York City, Chicago.

Also ranks #1 in gdp (current us$) · #1 in health expenditure per capita · #1 in imports of goods and services.

Full country profile Weather in New York (Purr Weather)

#7 Australia

Australia ranks #7 on this list with 1.33 million km².

Capital
Canberra
Continent
Oceania
Income group
High income
Population
27.61 million people (2025)
GDP
US$1.8 trillion (2025)
GDP per person
US$65,130 (2025)
Life expectancy
83.1 years (2024)
Urban population
87.7% of population (2025)

Largest cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane.

Also ranks #2 in regulatory quality score · #3 in access to clean cooking fuels · #4 in new businesses registered.

Full country profile Weather in Sydney (Purr Weather)

Profile facts: World Bank (CC BY 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0); weather links go to Purr Weather, another ChowChow Labs site.

Related rankings

Source and method

Forest area for each country in 2020, ranked from highest to lowest.

Source: The World Bank, indicator AG.LND.FRST.K2. Licence: CC BY 4.0. Retrieved: 2026-11-14.

The World Bank: Forest area (sq. km): FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (via World Development Indicators)

Original data provider, as recorded by the World Bank: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Values are shown as published. Provider terms: The World Bank. All licences: Sources & licences.