Low income Countries Ranked by Forest area share (2024)

Name: Low income Countries Ranked by Forest area share
Creator: The World Bank
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Forest area share: each country's latest value (2019–2024), ranked from highest to lowest. Source: The World Bank (CC BY 4.0).

Summary

Guinea-Bissau ranks #1 with 74.8% of land area. Central African Republic is second with 72.5% of land area, 3.3% behind. The top five are Guinea-Bissau, Central African Republic, Liberia, Korea, Dem. People's Rep. and Congo, Dem. Rep.. The median across all 25 is 12.3% of land area; Niger is last at 0.837% of land area. Guinea-Bissau's figure has fallen 5% since 2000 (78.5% of land area to 74.8% of land area in 2024).

#1: Guinea-Bissau · 74.8% of land area
Median: 12.3% of land area
Coverage: 25 Low income countries
Data year: 2024
Last updated: 2026-11-14

Top 10: Forest area share (% of land area). Bar chart of the top 10: 1. Guinea-Bissau 74.8; 2. Central African Republic 72.5; 3. Liberia 66.1; 4. Korea, Dem. People's Rep. 64.1; 5. Congo, Dem. Rep. 61.5; 6. Mozambique 41.3; 7. Sierra Leone 34; 8. Rwanda 26.1; 9. Ethiopia 23.8; 10. Malawi 22.

Forest area share over time, top 5 (% of land area). Guinea-Bissau: 78.5 in 2000 to 74.8 in 2024; Central African Republic: 74 in 2000 to 72.5 in 2024; Liberia: 83.1 in 2000 to 66.1 in 2024; Korea, Dem. People's Rep.: 61.9 in 2000 to 64.1 in 2024; Congo, Dem. Rep.: 67.8 in 2000 to 61.5 in 2024.

Full ranking

Low income Countries Ranked by Forest area share, 2024
Rank	Country	Forest area share (% of land area)
1	Guinea-Bissau	74.8
2	Central African Republic	72.5
3	Liberia	66.1
4	Korea, Dem. People's Rep.	64.1
5	Congo, Dem. Rep.	61.5
6	Mozambique	41.3
7	Sierra Leone	34
8	Rwanda	26.1
9	Ethiopia	23.8
10	Malawi	22
11	Gambia, The	21.3
12	Madagascar	17.3
13	Burkina Faso	12.3
14	Eritrea	12
15	Uganda	11.9
16	Sudan	11.9
17	South Sudan	11.3
18	Burundi	10.9
19	Mali	8.67
20	Somalia, Fed. Rep.	7.82
21	Chad	2.97
22	Syrian Arab Republic	2.87
23	Afghanistan	1.85
24	Yemen, Rep.	1.04
25	Niger	0.837

About the top 10

#1 Guinea-Bissau

Guinea-Bissau ranks #1 on this list with 74.8% of land area.

Capital: Bissau
Continent: Africa
Income group: Low income
Population: 2.25 million people (2025)
GDP: US$2.53 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$1,124 (2025)
Life expectancy: 64.3 years (2024)
Urban population: 46.7% of population (2025)

Also ranks #3 in agriculture value added share of gdp · #5 in forest rents share of gdp · #7 in low-birthweight babies share.

Full country profile

#2 Central African Republic

Central African Republic ranks #2 on this list with 72.5% of land area.

Capital: Bangui
Continent: Africa
Income group: Low income
Population: 5.51 million people (2025)
GDP: US$3.07 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$556.1 (2025)
Life expectancy: 57.7 years (2024)
Urban population: 44.6% of population (2025)

Also ranks #1 in population ages 0-14 share · #1 in age dependency ratio · #1 in age dependency ratio (young).

Full country profile

#3 Liberia

Liberia ranks #3 on this list with 66.1% of land area.

Capital: Monrovia
Continent: Africa
Income group: Low income
Population: 5.73 million people (2025)
GDP: US$5.25 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$915.3 (2025)
Life expectancy: 62.3 years (2024)
Urban population: 56.1% of population (2025)

Largest cities: Monrovia.

Also ranks #2 in forest rents share of gdp · #3 in renewable energy share · #5 in infant mortality rate.

Full country profile

#4 Korea, Dem. People's Rep.

Korea, Dem. People's Rep. ranks #4 on this list with 64.1% of land area.

Capital: Pyongyang
Continent: Asia
Income group: Low income
Population: 26.57 million people (2025)
Life expectancy: 73.7 years (2024)
Urban population: 64.2% of population (2025)
CO2 emissions per person: 2.5 t CO2e per person (2024)
Currency: North Korean won

Largest cities: Pyongyang.

Also ranks #2 in hospital beds per 10,000 · #3 in armed forces personnel · #6 in female labour force participation.

Full country profile

#5 Congo, Dem. Rep.

Congo, Dem. Rep. ranks #5 on this list with 61.5% of land area.

Capital: Kinshasa
Continent: Africa
Income group: Low income
Population: 112.83 million people (2025)
GDP: US$91.03 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$806.8 (2025)
Life expectancy: 62.1 years (2024)
Urban population: 45.1% of population (2025)

Largest cities: Kinshasa, Mbuji-Mayi, Kananga.

Also ranks #1 in renewable energy share · #1 in poverty headcount ratio · #1 in mineral rents share of gdp.

Full country profile

#6 Mozambique

Mozambique ranks #6 on this list with 41.3% of land area.

Capital: Maputo
Continent: Africa
Income group: Low income
Population: 35.63 million people (2025)
GDP: US$22.34 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$626.9 (2025)
Life expectancy: 63.8 years (2024)
Urban population: 37.2% of population (2025)

Largest cities: Maputo, Matola.

Also ranks #2 in poverty headcount ratio · #3 in income share of richest 10% · #4 in debt service share of exports.

Full country profile

#7 Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone ranks #7 on this list with 34% of land area.

Capital: Freetown
Continent: Africa
Income group: Low income
Population: 8.82 million people (2025)
GDP: US$7.46 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$846.3 (2025)
Life expectancy: 62 years (2024)
Urban population: 45.9% of population (2025)

Also ranks #1 in school enrolment (primary) · #7 in under-5 mortality rate · #8 in forest rents share of gdp.

Full country profile

#8 Rwanda

Rwanda ranks #8 on this list with 26.1% of land area.

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

#9 Ethiopia

Ethiopia ranks #9 on this list with 23.8% of land area.

Capital: Addis Ababa
Continent: Africa
Income group: Low income
Population: 135.47 million people (2025)
GDP: US$126.36 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$932.7 (2025)
Life expectancy: 67.6 years (2024)
Urban population: 24.1% of population (2025)

Largest cities: Addis Ababa.

Also ranks #3 in children out of school (primary) · #6 in rural population · #6 in gdp growth rate.

Full country profile

#10 Malawi

Malawi ranks #10 on this list with 22% of land area.

Capital: Lilongwe
Continent: Africa
Income group: Low income
Population: 22.22 million people (2025)
GDP: US$14.92 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$671.5 (2025)
Life expectancy: 67.6 years (2024)
Urban population: 17.6% of population (2025)

Also ranks #3 in school enrolment (primary) · #3 in pupil-teacher ratio (primary) · #3 in poverty headcount ratio.

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

Forest area share: each country's latest value (2019–2024), ranked from highest to lowest.

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. Provider terms: The World Bank. All licences: Sources & licences.

Summary

Full ranking

About the top 10

#1 Guinea-Bissau

#2 Central African Republic

#3 Liberia

#4 Korea, Dem. People's Rep.

#5 Congo, Dem. Rep.

#6 Mozambique

#7 Sierra Leone

#8 Rwanda

#9 Ethiopia

#10 Malawi

Related rankings

Source and method