Which Regions Have the Highest Density of Forests?
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Key Takeaways
- Forests cover 49% of South America’s total land area, the largest share across global regions.
- Over one billion hectares of forests are located in Europe—the highest total forested area of any region.
Today, forests cover 32% of the Earth’s total land area, equal to 4.1 billion hectares (ha).
Russia is home to the largest forest globally, spanning 833 million ha, or about 80% of Europe’s forests. Brazil and Canada fall next in line, however deforestation driven by agriculture has led to substantial forest loss in Brazil, although rates have slowed in the past decade.
This graphic shows forest area as a share of total land area by region, based on data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
South America Has the Highest Density of Forests Globally
Below, we show the density of forests by region:
| Region | Forest area in hectares (ha) | Total land area (ha) | Forest area % of land area |
|---|---|---|---|
| South America | 849M | 1.73B | 49% |
| Europe | 1.04B | 2.21B | 47% |
| North and Central America | 776M | 2.10B | 37% |
| Africa | 663M | 3.01B | 22% |
| Oceania | 184M | 836M | 22% |
| Asia | 630M | 3.15B | 20% |
| World | 4.1B | 12.94B | 32% |
With forests covering 49% of South America’s land area, the region leads globally.
Overall, forests span 849 million ha, with the highest concentration in the Amazon rainforest. However, forest coverage equal to the size of France and Germany combined has been lost since 1985 due to deforestation.
Europe ranks in second, with 47% of its land area consisting of forests. After Russia, Sweden and Finland have the largest forested areas, at 28 million ha and 22 million ha, respectively.
While Asia has the lowest share across all regions, China has been expanding its tree cover for decades. In fact, forest area has climbed from 17% of its total land area in 1990 to 24% in 2024, ranking as the fifth-largest forest area worldwide.
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To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on the share of the world’s forests by country.
