In this piece, we will take a look at the 30 most forested countries in the world ranked by percentage of forest cover.
Human beings have been using tools for centuries now. The ability to shape the environment and use appendages to manipulate resources for industrial and personal use has been the primary determinant of moving civilization forward. The first proper modern day civilization, the Roman Empire, rose to prosperity because of its ability to build complex water transportation systems and war machines that enabled the Romans to live together in large groups and project military power.
However, at the same time, progress has a cost. And the highest cost that has been borne as a result is by the environment. Modern era air and land transportation combined with the emissions from power generation have increased the greenhouse gases in the air, and this is compounded by the fact that human beings have also been merciless towards forests – the lungs of the planet. On this front, data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) shows that between 1990 and 2000, the global forest area dropped by 7.8 million hectares annually. However, on a positive note, the rate of this drop has slowed down, with 4.7 million hectares of forest area being reduced annually between 2010 and 2020. Cumulatively speaking, a painful 420 million hectares of forests have been lost since 1990. Forests in Africa have suffered the most, losing 3.9 million hectares annually between 2010 and 2020, followed by South America with 2.6 million hectares of annual losses.
So, forests are reducing but what is humanity doing about it? Well, there’s a massive market dedicated to planting forests, and it’s worth billions of dollars. In fact, according to research from The Business Research Company, the global forestry and logging industry was worth a whopping $981 billion in 2022 and is slated to grow to $1 trillion by the end of 2023 to mark a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.3%. From 2023 until 2027, the industry is expected to maintain this growth rate through a 10.2% CAGR to be worth $1.6 trillion by the end of the forecast period. This industry covers both firms that plant forests for artificial use as well as those that transport the cut trees and other products.
Not only is the forestry and logging market quite valuable, but it also has several offshoots. For instance, one area where technology is helping the forestry market is the forestry software segment. This industry enables forestry firms to schedule their operations and identify new business opportunities. According to research from Data Bridge Market, this sector was worth $1.25 billion in 2021 and will grow at a CAGR of 22.4% to sit at $6.3 billion by 2029 end.
The sector itself, like a variety of others, has also struggled in a tight economy that has followed since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the generous stimulus packages in its aftermath, the rising inflation egged on by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the Federal Reserve’s resulting rapid interest rate hikes. Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE:WY)’s management shared impact of these headwinds in its earnings call for its first quarter of 2023 where the firm’s management shared:
Beginning with our Western Timberlands operations, domestic log markets were fairly tensioned at the outset of the second quarter driven by improved pricing and takeaway of finished products leaner than normal log inventories and log supply constraints due to persistent winter weather conditions. As the quarter progresses, we expect further improvement in log demand and an increase in log supply as the weather improves seasonally. As a result, our domestic sales realizations are expected to remain fairly stable throughout the second quarter. That said, we anticipate the quarterly average will be lower compared to the first quarter as log prices have fallen since the beginning of the year. We anticipate our fee harvest volumes will be moderately higher given seasonally favorable operating conditions in the second quarter.
Forestry and road costs are expected to be significantly higher as we enter the spring and summer months, and per unit log and haul costs are expected to be significantly lower, partly due to lower fuel prices. Moving to the export markets. Starting with Japan. As Devin mentioned, elevated inventories of European lumber imports and reduced consumption continue to weigh on log demand in pricing. We expect these conditions to persist through the second quarter. As a result, our Japanese sales volumes and realizations are expected to be lower compared to the first quarter. That said, we expect European lumber inventories normalize as the year progresses, which should increase demand for our logs in the Japanese market. In the meantime, we are shifting a certain amount of logs to our internal mills to capitalize on domestic market conditions.
With these details in mind, let’s take a look at some of the most forested countries in the world in terms of percentage of total area.
Roman Mikhailiuk/Shutterstock.com
Our Methodology
To compile our list of the world’s top countries with the most percentage of forests, we used the UN FAO’s Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 to first determine countries with the highest hectarage of forests. Then, the countries’ areas in hectares were determined, and the percentage of forests covering this was calculated. The resulting list of countries with the highest percentage of forests is listed below. Both countries and administered territories are included.
Don’t Miss: Top 20 Most Forested States in the U.S.
Most Forested Countries in the World Ranked by Percentage of Forest Cover
30. Belize
Percentage of Area Covered By Forests: 56%
Belize is a Central American country that is one of the smallest in the world in terms of area. Out of its 2.38 million hectares, 1.28 million are covered by forests.
29. Republic of Panama
Percentage of Area Covered By Forests: 56%
The Republic of Panama is a North and South American country. It has a $77 billion economy and high levels of income disparity.
28. Republic of Peru
Percentage of Area Covered By Forests: 56%
The Republic of Peru is a coastal South American country with 72 million hectares of forests.
27. Republic of Honduras
Percentage of Area Covered By Forests: 57%
The Republic of Honduras is a Central American nation with a small $30.5 billion economy.
26. Independent State of Samoa
Percentage of Area Covered By Forests: 57%
The Independent State of Samoa is one of the smallest countries on our list with an area of just 2.831 square kilometers.
25. Malaysia
Percentage of Area Covered By Forests: 58%
Malaysia is a Southeast Asian country. One of the more prosperous nations in the world, it has a $447 billion economy.
24. Federative Republic of Brazil
Percentage of Area Covered By Forests: 58%
Brazil is one of the most prosperous nations in the world and is known for its Amazon rainforests.
23. Republic of Zambia
Percentage of Area Covered By Forests: 60%
The Republic of Zambia is a landlocked African country with a small $27 billion economy. It has 44.8 million hectares of forest cover.
22. Montenegro
Percentage of Area Covered By Forests: 60%
Montenegro is a Southeastern European country with one of the smallest economies in the world of $7 billion.
21. Republic of Slovenia
Percentage of Area Covered By Forests: 61%
The Republic of Slovenia is a Central European country. It covers two million hectares out of which 1.23 million are forests.
20. Republic of Fiji
Percentage of Area Covered By Forests: 62%
The Republic of Fiji is an island country in the Pacific Ocean. It has a $4.8 billion economy with a population of close to a million people.
19. Republic of Korea
Percentage of Area Covered By Forests: 63%
The Republic of Korea, or South Korea, is a developed Asian country with a strong technology industry.
18. Commonwealth of Dominica
Percentage of Area Covered By Forests: 64%
The Commonwealth of Dominica is one of the smallest countries on our list covering just 750 square kilometers in area.
17. Republic of the Congo
Percentage of Area Covered By Forests: 64%
The Republic of the Congo is a Central African country. It has a $14.4 billion economy and has nearly 22 million hectares of forests.
16. Brunei Darussalam
Percentage of Area Covered By Forests: 66%
Brunei Darussalam is a Southeast Asian coastal country. Another small country, it has 380,000 hectares of forest.
15. Japan
Percentage of Area Covered By Forests: 66%
Japan is one of the most advanced countries in the world and it has the third largest GDP of all countries.
14. Republic of Finland
Percentage of Area Covered By Forests: 66%
The Republic of Finland is a Nordic country with relatively high standards of living.
13. Kingdom of Sweden
Percentage of Area Covered By Forests: 68%
The Kingdom of Sweden is another prosperous Nordic European country and has the highest percentage of forest cover in Europe.
12. Lao People’s Democratic Republic
Percentage of Area Covered By Forests: 70%
Laos is a Southeast Asian nation with a $14 billion economy.
11. Kingdom of Bhutan
Percentage of Area Covered By Forests: 71%
The Kingdom of Bhutan is a landlocked South Asian nation. It has a $2.6 billion economy.
10. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Percentage of Area Covered By Forests: 75%
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is the smallest country on our list, covering an area of 389 square kilometers.
9. Republic of Seychelles
Percentage of Area Covered By Forests: 75%
The Republic of Seychelles is a collection of islands in the Indian Ocean.
8. Independent State of Papua New Guinea
Percentage of Area Covered By Forests: 77%
The Independent State of Papua New Guinea is an Oceanic country located close to Australia.
7. Republic of Liberia
Percentage of Area Covered By Forests: 79%
The Republic of Liberia is an African nation with a $3.9 billion economy.
6. Co‑operative Republic of Guyana
Percentage of Area Covered By Forests: 86%
The Co‑operative Republic of Guyana is a South American nation with 18.4 million hectares of forests.
5. Republic of Equatorial Guinea
Percentage of Area Covered By Forests: 87%
The Republic of Equatorial Guinea is a Central African coastal country. It covers an area of 2.8 million hectares, out of which 2.45 million hectares are covered by forests. Equatorial Guinea has a $16 billion economy along with a GDP per capita of $8,462. The country relies primarily on agricultural products and natural resources for its exports – with crude oil being its largest foreign exchange earner. Guinea is also one of the poorest nations in the world with vast chunks of its population living in poverty.
4. Solomon Islands
Percentage of Area Covered By Forests: 87%
The Solomon Islands is an Oceanic country that is made up of almost a thousand islands. Cumulatively, these cover an area of 28,400 square kilometers which amounts to roughly three million hectares. It has a higher hectarage of forests, standing at 2.52 million. Crucially, most of the Solomon Islands’ forests are naturally regenerating, with the FAO reporting that the country has 2.49 million hectares of regenerating forests. However, its planted forests have nearly dropped in half since 1990.
3. Gabonese Republic
Percentage of Area Covered By Forests: 88%
The Gabonese Republic is a Central African country. One of the largest countries on our list, it covers an area of roughly 26.8 million hectares out of which 23.53 million hectares are covered by forests. Like the Solomon Islands, nearly all of Gabon’s forests are naturally regenerating areas. Additionally, its planted forests have maintained their levels between 1990 and 2020. Gabon has a $22 billion economy and earns most of its foreign exchange from exporting crude oil.
2. Federated States of Micronesia
Percentage of Area Covered By Forests: 91%
The Federated States of Micronesia is one of the smallest countries in the world. It covers an area of 702 square kilometers, out of which 64,000 hectares are covered by forests. Delving deeper into Micronesia’s forests, fifty thousand hectares are naturally generating forests. The country also has a tiny economy, which was worth just $384 million as of 2019. This lends Micronesia a GDP per capita of $3,735. The U.S. has helped Micronesia a lot in its development, but the region still relies primarily on fishing and other activities for revenue.
1. Republic of Suriname
Percentage of Area Covered By Forests: 93%
The Republic of Suriname is a South American country. It covers 16.3 million hectares in area, out of which 15.2 million hectares are forests. Most of Suriname’s forests are planted forests, and according to the FAO’s estimates, the country has 14 million hectares of such forests. These have grown by one million hectares between 1990 and 2020.
Suggested Articles:
- 15 Cheapest States to Live In
- Top 20 Women-Owned Companies in the US
- 15 Countries that Make the Best Beer in the World
Disclosure: None. 30 Most Forested Countries in the World Ranked by Percentage of Forest Cover is originally published on Insider Monkey.
