Ranked: The World’s Biggest Lumber Producers
Key Takeaways
- The U.S. is the world’s largest lumber producer, accounting for 17% of global output.
- Just five countries produce more than half of the world’s lumber.
- China’s lumber production has more than tripled since 2004, making it the second-largest producer.
From home construction and renovations to furniture and shipping pallets, lumber is one of the world’s most widely used building materials.
This graphic ranks the world’s biggest lumber producers by sawnwood output in 2024, using data from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
The World’s Top 30 Lumber Producers
The United States produced roughly 2.7 billion cubic feet of lumber in 2024, making it the world’s largest producer.
| Rank | Country | Cubic Feet (2024) | Global Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  U.S. |
2.7B | 17.0% |
| 2 |  China |
2.1B | 13.7% |
| 3 |  Russia |
1.3B | 8.4% |
| 4 |  Canada |
1.2B | 7.9% |
| 5 |  India |
847M | 5.4% |
| 6 |  Germany |
820M | 5.2% |
| 7 |  Sweden |
632M | 4.0% |
| 8 |  Finland |
388M | 2.5% |
| 9 |  Brazil |
344M | 2.2% |
| 10 |  Austria |
343M | 2.2% |
| 11 |  Türkiye |
333M | 2.1% |
| 12 |  Japan |
281M | 1.8% |
| 13 |  France |
271M | 1.7% |
| 14 |  Chile |
249M | 1.6% |
| 15 |  Mexico |
241M | 1.5% |
| 16 |  Vietnam |
203M | 1.3% |
| 17 |  Thailand |
198M | 1.3% |
| 18 |  Czechia |
167M | 1.1% |
| 19 |  Belarus |
162M | 1.0% |
| 20 |  Poland |
148M | 0.9% |
| 21 |  New Zealand |
147M | 0.9% |
| 22 |  Romania |
138M | 0.9% |
| 23 |  Australia |
133M | 0.8% |
| 24 |  Argentina |
132M | 0.8% |
| 25 |  Ukraine |
113M | 0.7% |
| 26 |  UK |
113M | 0.7% |
| 27 |  Latvia |
105M | 0.7% |
| 28 |  Norway |
95M | 0.6% |
| 29 |  Spain |
92M | 0.6% |
| 30 |  Indonesia |
78M | 0.5% |
| — |  World total |
$15.7B (Market Value) | 100% |
China ranked second with 2.1 billion cubic feet, followed by Russia and Canada. India rounded out the top five with nearly 847 million cubic feet.
Together, the top five producers account for more than half of global lumber output. Their scale reflects extensive forest resources, large sawmill industries, and steady demand from construction and manufacturing.
Europe has a deep bench of major lumber producers, with Germany, Sweden, and Finland leading the region. Sweden and Finland benefit from extensive managed forests and export-oriented sawmill industries, while Germany’s timber resources support its construction and manufacturing sectors.
Austria and France also rank among the world’s top 15, underscoring Europe’s importance to the global lumber supply.
China’s Lumber Industry Has Tripled Since 2004
Although the United States remains the world’s largest producer, China has recorded some of the fastest long-term growth.
Since 2004, the country’s lumber production has more than tripled as rapid urbanization fueled demand for housing, commercial buildings, and infrastructure. China has also become the world’s largest processor and consumer of wood products, supplying everything from furniture to engineered wood used in manufacturing.
A Critical Global Building Material
Lumber demand is closely tied to housing construction, infrastructure spending, and manufacturing activity. As countries continue investing in new buildings and industrial capacity, a relatively small group of producers will remain central to the global wood supply.
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To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on the world’s 4.1 billion hectares of forest by region.
