Forests are the largest terrestrial ecosystem on the earth, accounting for one-third of the earth's land surface area, about 40 million square kilometers, and are the earth's gene bank, carbon storage, storage and energy bank, which plays a vital role in maintaining the ecological balance of the entire earth, and is the resource and environment on which human beings rely for survival and development.
Forest area refers to land covered by naturally growing or artificially planted erect trees (whether productive or not) with an in-situ height of at least 5 m, excluding standing trees in agricultural production systems (e.g., fruit tree plantations and agroforestry systems) and trees in urban parks and gardens. Since the last ice age, the Earth's forest cover has decreased by 20 million square kilometers, half of which began in 1900 due to rapid agricultural and industrial development.
The distribution of the world's forests is extremely uneven, with more than 54 per cent of the world's forests concentrated in Russia, Brazil, Canada, the United States and China, 70 per cent of the world's forests concentrated in 15 countries and 80 per cent of the world's forests concentrated in 20 countries.
We used the World Bank's 2021 country forest area data, updated in October 2023, to identify the 15 countries with the largest forest area.
1.Russia
Russia is the largest country in the world by area, and at the same time has the largest area of forests. Nearly 50% of Russia's land is forest, about 8.15 million square kilometers. With the exception of China, the United States, Canada, Brazil and Australia, the rest of the world has less forest area than Russia. This also means, 201% of the world's forests are in Russia.
Due to the cold and dry climate, most of Russia's forests belong to the boreal forest, consisting of deciduous and coniferous species, including larch, pine, spruce and oak.
2.Brazil
Brazil has about 5 million square kilometers of forests, about 12 percent of the world's forests3%, two-thirds of the Amazon rainforest is in the territory of Brazil. Brazil's forests are about twice the size of Saudi Arabia and three times the size of China's Xinjiang, which is equivalent to 28 Chinese Guangdong provinces.
The Amazon forest covers many countries in South America, and Peru, Colombia, Bolivia and Venezuela are among the top 15 countries in the world in terms of forest cover. Peru is 10th, Colombia is 13th, Bolivia and Venezuela are 14th and 15th respectively.
3 Canada
Canada has the third largest forest area in the world, with about 3.1 million square kilometers, accounting for about 8% of the world's forests6%。Due to its geographical proximity to the Arctic, Canada also has boreal forests made up of deciduous and coniferous species. The area of boreal forests is second only to Russia.
4.United States
The United States ranks fourth in terms of forest area, with an area of about 3 million square kilometers, accounting for about 77%。Multiple forests cross the U.S.-Canada border and become a treasure trove of green resources shared by both countries.
Alaska in the United States is also home to vast boreal forests. The largest national forest in the United States, the Tongas National Forest, is located in Alaska.
5.China
With a forest area of more than 2 million square kilometers, China ranks fifth in the world, accounting for 5% of the world's forest area5%。Over the past 30 years, China has carried out a large number of afforestation work and achieved significant results, increasing the forest area to the land area of Norway (3850,000 square kilometers). Nearly 40% of China's forests are plantations.
Here are the countries ranked 6 to 15 by forest area, their forest area, and the percentage of forest in the world:
6 Australia 1.34 million square kilometers, accounting for 33%
7 Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1.25 million km², 31%
8 Indonesia , 9150,000 square kilometers, 23%
9 India, 7240,000 square kilometers, 18%
10 Peru, 7220,000 square kilometers, 18%
11 Angola, 660,000 km², 16%
12 Mexico, 6560,000 square kilometers, 16%
13 Colombia, 5890,000 square kilometers, 15%
14 Bolivia, 5060,000 square kilometers, 13%
15 Venezuela, 4620,000 square kilometers, 11%