Countries With the Fastest Growth in Forest area share (5-Year Change)

Name: Countries With the Fastest Growth in Forest area share (5-Year Change)
Creator: The World Bank
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Change in Forest area share over the five years to each country's latest year, in points (a share or rate is not shown as a % of itself). Only countries that rose are listed. Source: The World Bank (CC BY 4.0).

Summary

Tuvalu rose the most: by 5.28 pts, from 34.3% of land area to 39.6% of land area in the five years to 2024. Rwanda is second (+3.91 pts), followed by Bahrain (+2.49 pts). 93 countries rose over that period; the median change among them was +0.24 pts.

#1: Tuvalu · +5.28 pts
Median: +0.24 pts
Coverage: 93 countries
Data year: 2024
Last updated: 2026-11-14

Top 10: 5-year change (points). Bar chart of the top 10: 1. Tuvalu 5.28; 2. Rwanda 3.91; 3. Bahrain 2.49; 4. Virgin Islands (US) 2.48; 5. Serbia 2.21; 6. Liechtenstein 2.13; 7. Jamaica 1.79; 8. New Zealand 1.12; 9. Fiji 1.05; 10. Albania 1.05.

Full ranking

Countries With the Fastest Growth in Forest area share (5-Year Change), 2024
Rank	Country	From	To	5-year change (points)
1	Tuvalu	34.3	39.6	+5.28 pts
2	Rwanda	22.2	26.1	+3.91 pts
3	Bahrain	2.37	4.86	+2.49 pts
4	Virgin Islands (US)	56.5	58.9	+2.48 pts
5	Serbia	37	39.2	+2.21 pts
6	Liechtenstein	34.7	36.8	+2.13 pts
7	Jamaica	54.8	56.5	+1.79 pts
8	New Zealand	37.8	38.9	+1.12 pts
9	Fiji	60.7	61.7	+1.05 pts
10	Albania	33.3	34.3	+1.05 pts
11	Greece	35.9	37	+1.03 pts
12	Palau	89.8	90.8	+0.978 pts
13	Costa Rica	58.1	59.1	+0.923 pts
14	China	23.2	24	+0.874 pts
15	France	32	32.9	+0.853 pts
16	Canada	41.1	42	+0.843 pts
17	Ghana	30.1	30.9	+0.784 pts
18	Cabo Verde	11.7	12.5	+0.769 pts
19	Türkiye	28.7	29.5	+0.762 pts
20	Belarus	43.4	44.1	+0.726 pts
21	Philippines	24.1	24.8	+0.712 pts
22	Azerbaijan	13.8	14.6	+0.71 pts
23	Viet Nam	46.4	47.1	+0.681 pts
24	Dominican Republic	46.1	46.7	+0.589 pts
25	Bulgaria	35.8	36.4	+0.58 pts
26	Nepal	43	43.6	+0.578 pts
27	Ireland	11.4	12	+0.571 pts
28	Czechia	37.8	38.4	+0.571 pts
29	Latvia	55.1	55.6	+0.533 pts
30	Uruguay	10.9	11.5	+0.533 pts
31	St. Lucia	53.2	53.8	+0.508 pts
32	Kenya	6.13	6.63	+0.495 pts
33	Uzbekistan	8.31	8.79	+0.477 pts
34	Italy	31.3	31.8	+0.475 pts
35	Korea, Dem. People's Rep.	63.6	64.1	+0.472 pts
36	American Samoa	79.3	79.6	+0.398 pts
37	Spain	37.8	38.2	+0.395 pts
38	South Africa	18.4	18.8	+0.361 pts
39	Northern Mariana Islands	53	53.3	+0.347 pts
40	Ukraine	17	17.3	+0.331 pts
41	Portugal	36.4	36.6	+0.296 pts
42	Russian Federation	50.5	50.8	+0.269 pts
43	Cuba	34.6	34.9	+0.263 pts
44	Hungary	22.5	22.8	+0.258 pts
45	United Kingdom	13.2	13.5	+0.258 pts
46	Lithuania	35.1	35.4	+0.246 pts
47	Denmark	15.8	16	+0.24 pts
48	Switzerland	31.8	32	+0.232 pts
49	India	24.2	24.4	+0.215 pts
50	Haiti	13.2	13.5	+0.209 pts
51	Andorra	38.7	38.9	+0.208 pts
52	El Salvador	32.8	33	+0.202 pts
53	Slovak Republic	40.1	40.3	+0.194 pts
54	St. Vincent and the Grenadines	73.2	73.4	+0.188 pts
55	Estonia	57.1	57.2	+0.185 pts
56	Austria	47.1	47.3	+0.17 pts
57	Togo	22.3	22.5	+0.169 pts
58	Croatia	34.6	34.8	+0.16 pts
59	Israel	6.7	6.84	+0.139 pts
60	São Tomé and Principe	57.4	57.6	+0.125 pts
61	Romania	30.1	30.2	+0.122 pts
62	Pakistan	3.99	4.11	+0.121 pts
63	Malta	1.38	1.49	+0.116 pts
64	Armenia	11.7	11.8	+0.113 pts
65	Poland	30.9	31	+0.113 pts
66	Congo, Rep.	63.9	64	+0.089 pts
67	Maldives	12.4	12.5	+0.083 pts
68	Micronesia, Fed. Sts.	92	92.1	+0.082 pts
69	Finland	74.1	74.2	+0.071 pts
70	Bosnia and Herzegovina	42.1	42.2	+0.067 pts
71	Netherlands	10.9	11	+0.067 pts
72	Germany	32.8	32.8	+0.065 pts
73	Australia	17.3	17.4	+0.057 pts
74	Lebanon	13.8	13.8	+0.046 pts
75	Iceland	0.555	0.6	+0.045 pts
76	Norway	33.2	33.2	+0.042 pts
77	Marshall Islands	53.6	53.6	+0.035 pts
78	Kazakhstan	1.27	1.3	+0.031 pts
79	United Arab Emirates	4.54	4.57	+0.024 pts
80	Turks and Caicos Islands	11.1	11.1	+0.02 pts
81	West Bank and Gaza	1.83	1.84	+0.017 pts
82	Mauritania	0.973	0.986	+0.013 pts
83	Tajikistan	3.05	3.06	+0.01 pts
84	Kyrgyz Republic	6.54	6.55	+0.0099 pts
85	South Sudan	11.3	11.3	+0.008 pts
86	Morocco	12.8	12.8	+0.005 pts
87	Djibouti	0.252	0.255	+0.0039 pts
88	Saudi Arabia	1.29	1.29	+0.0027 pts
89	Kuwait	0.351	0.354	+0.0023 pts
90	Syrian Arab Republic	2.87	2.87	+0.0011 pts
91	Faroe Islands	0.057	0.058	+0.0011 pts
92	Botswana	27.8	27.8	+0.001 pts
93	Egypt, Arab Rep.	0.0041	0.0041	+0 pts

About the top 10

#1 Tuvalu

Tuvalu ranks #1 on this list with +5.28 pts.

Capital: Funafuti
Continent: Oceania
Income group: Upper middle income
Population: 9,492 people (2025)
GDP: US$57.35 million (2025)
GDP per person: US$6,041 (2025)
Life expectancy: 67.3 years (2024)
Urban population: 65.4% of population (2025)

Also ranks #1 in agricultural land share · #1 in health expenditure share of gdp · #1 in literacy rate.

Full country profile

#2 Rwanda

Rwanda ranks #2 on this list with +3.91 pts.

Capital: Kigali
Continent: Africa
Income group: Low income
Population: 14.57 million people (2025)
GDP: US$16.37 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$1,124 (2025)
Life expectancy: 68 years (2024)
Urban population: 30.9% of population (2025)

Largest cities: Kigali.

Also ranks #1 in women in parliament share · #2 in school enrolment (primary) · #2 in pupil-teacher ratio (primary).

Full country profile

#3 Bahrain

Bahrain ranks #3 on this list with +2.49 pts.

Capital: Manama
Continent: Asia
Income group: High income
Population: 1.6 million people (2025)
GDP: US$48.97 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$30,597 (2025)
Life expectancy: 81.4 years (2024)
Urban population: 100% of population (2025)

Also ranks #1 in urban population share · #1 in immunisation (measles) rate · #2 in internet users share.

Full country profile

#4 Virgin Islands (US)

Virgin Islands (US) ranks #4 on this list with +2.48 pts.

Capital: Charlotte Amalie
Continent: North America
Income group: High income
Population: 103,790 people (2025)
GDP: US$4.67 billion (2022)
GDP per person: US$44,321 (2022)
Life expectancy: 80.8 years (2024)
Urban population: 95.4% of population (2025)

Also ranks #8 in age dependency ratio (old) · #8 in trade share of gdp · #13 in population ages 65+ share.

Full country profile

#5 Serbia

Serbia ranks #5 on this list with +2.21 pts.

Capital: Belgrade
Continent: Europe
Income group: Upper middle income
Population: 6.55 million people (2025)
GDP: US$99.95 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$15,262 (2025)
Life expectancy: 76 years (2024)
Urban population: 62.6% of population (2025)

Largest cities: City of Belgrade, Belgrade.

Also ranks #3 in death rate · #4 in smoking prevalence · #13 in age dependency ratio (old).

Full country profile Weather in Belgrade (Purr Weather)

#6 Liechtenstein

Liechtenstein ranks #6 on this list with +2.13 pts.

Capital: Vaduz
Continent: Europe
Income group: High income
Population: 41,024 people (2025)
GDP: US$8.91 billion (2024)
GDP per person: US$220,170 (2024)
Life expectancy: 84.2 years (2024)
Urban population: 14.6% of population (2025)

Also ranks #1 in rural population share · #1 in researchers in r&d per million · #2 in gdp per capita.

Full country profile

#7 Jamaica

Jamaica ranks #7 on this list with +1.79 pts.

Capital: Kingston
Continent: North America
Income group: Upper middle income
Population: 2.84 million people (2025)
GDP: US$22.71 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$8,003 (2025)
Life expectancy: 71.6 years (2024)
Urban population: 59.4% of population (2025)

Also ranks #3 in debt service share of exports · #4 in homicide rate · #6 in immunisation (dpt) rate.

Full country profile

#8 New Zealand

New Zealand ranks #8 on this list with +1.12 pts.

Capital: Wellington
Continent: Oceania
Income group: High income
Population: 5.32 million people (2025)
GDP: US$264.06 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$49,591 (2025)
Life expectancy: 82 years (2024)
Urban population: 84% of population (2025)

Largest cities: Auckland.

Also ranks #3 in voice and accountability score · #4 in tax revenue share of gdp · #4 in control of corruption score.

Full country profile Weather in Auckland (Purr Weather)

#9 Fiji

Fiji ranks #9 on this list with +1.05 pts.

Capital: Suva
Continent: Oceania
Income group: Upper middle income
Population: 933,150 people (2025)
GDP: US$6.2 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$6,642 (2025)
Life expectancy: 67.5 years (2024)
Urban population: 59.5% of population (2025)

Also ranks #1 in mobile subscriptions per 100 · #5 in completion rate (primary) · #6 in livestock production index.

Full country profile

#10 Albania

Albania ranks #10 on this list with +1.05 pts.

Capital: Tirana
Continent: Europe
Income group: Upper middle income
Population: 2.35 million people (2025)
GDP: US$30.54 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$12,998 (2025)
Life expectancy: 79.8 years (2024)
Urban population: 58.9% of population (2025)

Also ranks #2 in electricity access rate · #2 in access to electricity (rural) · #11 in completion rate (lower secondary).

Full country profile

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

Source and method

Change in Forest area share over the five years to each country's latest year, in points (a share or rate is not shown as a % of itself). Only countries that rose are listed.

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

The World Bank: Forest area (% of land area): 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 (changes are computed from the published values). Provider terms: The World Bank. All licences: Sources & licences.

Summary

Full ranking

About the top 10

#1 Tuvalu

#2 Rwanda

#3 Bahrain

#4 Virgin Islands (US)

#5 Serbia

#6 Liechtenstein

#7 Jamaica

#8 New Zealand

#9 Fiji

#10 Albania

Related rankings

Source and method