Forestland — Area in South America

South America: Forestland — Area was 848,587 1000 ha in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
848,587 1000 ha
Change on year
down 0.5%
Rank
7th
of 31 groups
All-time high
1.03 million 1000 ha
in 1990
All-time low
848,587 1000 ha
in 2025
Years of data
36
1990–2025

Forestland — Area in South America, 1990–2025

0250.0k500.0k750.0k1.0M1990200720251990: 1.0M 1000 ha1991: 1.0M 1000 ha1992: 1.0M 1000 ha1993: 1.0M 1000 ha1994: 999.1k 1000 ha1995: 991.7k 1000 ha1996: 984.4k 1000 ha1997: 977.1k 1000 ha1998: 969.7k 1000 ha1999: 962.4k 1000 ha2000: 955.0k 1000 ha2001: 950.1k 1000 ha2002: 945.1k 1000 ha2003: 940.2k 1000 ha2004: 935.2k 1000 ha2005: 930.3k 1000 ha2006: 925.3k 1000 ha2007: 920.4k 1000 ha2008: 915.4k 1000 ha2009: 910.5k 1000 ha2010: 905.5k 1000 ha2011: 902.3k 1000 ha2012: 899.1k 1000 ha2013: 896.0k 1000 ha2014: 892.8k 1000 ha2015: 889.6k 1000 ha2016: 885.8k 1000 ha2017: 881.9k 1000 ha2018: 878.1k 1000 ha2019: 874.3k 1000 ha2020: 870.4k 1000 ha2021: 866.1k 1000 ha2022: 861.7k 1000 ha2023: 857.3k 1000 ha2024: 853.0k 1000 ha2025: 848.6k 1000 ha

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.

Analysis

South America recorded 848,587 1000 ha for forestland — area in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.

That represents a change of down 0.5% on the previous year and down 4.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, forestland — area in South America peaked at 1.03 million 1000 ha in 1990 and was at its lowest, 848,587 1000 ha, in 2025.

South America ranks 7th of 31 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.

Forestland — Area in South America, year by year

Annual values for Forestland — Area in South America, 1990 to 2025.
Year 1000 ha Change
1990 1.03 million 1000 ha
1991 1.02 million 1000 ha -0.7%
1992 1.01 million 1000 ha -0.7%
1993 1.01 million 1000 ha -0.7%
1994 999,073 1000 ha -0.7%
1995 991,734 1000 ha -0.7%
1996 984,396 1000 ha -0.7%
1997 977,057 1000 ha -0.7%
1998 969,719 1000 ha -0.8%
1999 962,380 1000 ha -0.8%
2000 955,042 1000 ha -0.8%
2001 950,088 1000 ha -0.5%
2002 945,133 1000 ha -0.5%
2003 940,179 1000 ha -0.5%
2004 935,225 1000 ha -0.5%
2005 930,271 1000 ha -0.5%
2006 925,317 1000 ha -0.5%
2007 920,363 1000 ha -0.5%
2008 915,408 1000 ha -0.5%
2009 910,454 1000 ha -0.5%
2010 905,500 1000 ha -0.5%
2011 902,320 1000 ha -0.4%
2012 899,139 1000 ha -0.4%
2013 895,959 1000 ha -0.4%
2014 892,778 1000 ha -0.4%
2015 889,598 1000 ha -0.4%
2016 885,763 1000 ha -0.4%
2017 881,929 1000 ha -0.4%
2018 878,094 1000 ha -0.4%
2019 874,260 1000 ha -0.4%
2020 870,425 1000 ha -0.4%
2021 866,057 1000 ha -0.5%
2022 861,690 1000 ha -0.5%
2023 857,322 1000 ha -0.5%
2024 852,954 1000 ha -0.5%
2025 848,587 1000 ha -0.5%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 995,404 1000 ha 962,380 1000 ha 1.03 million 1000 ha 10
2000s 932,748 1000 ha 910,454 1000 ha 955,042 1000 ha 10
2010s 890,534 1000 ha 874,260 1000 ha 905,500 1000 ha 10
2020s 859,506 1000 ha 848,587 1000 ha 870,425 1000 ha 6

Countries ranked near South America

  1. 4 Canada 368,819 1000 ha compare
  2. 5 China 227,153 1000 ha compare
  3. 5 China, mainland 227,153 1000 ha compare
  4. 7 Australia and New Zealand 143,865 1000 ha compare
  5. 8 Australia 133,562 1000 ha compare
  6. 9 Indonesia 95,969 1000 ha compare
  7. 10 India 72,739 1000 ha compare

See the full ranking of 275 places →

More climate change data for South America

All data for South America →

Frequently asked questions

What is forestland — area in South America?
Forestland — area in South America was 848,587 1000 ha in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest forestland — area recorded in South America?
The highest recorded value was 1.03 million 1000 ha in 1990.
What is the lowest forestland — area recorded in South America?
The lowest recorded value was 848,587 1000 ha in 2025.
How does South America rank for forestland — area?
South America ranks 7th out of 31 groups with data for 2025.
Is forestland — area rising or falling in South America?
Over the last ten years it is down 4.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this South America data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Forestland — Area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Forestland — Area in South America. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 24 August 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/forestland-area-fao-tier-1/south-america/

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About this data

Indicator
Forestland — Area
Unit
1000 ha
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
275 places, 9,600 data points, 1990–2025
Last refreshed

The FAOSTAT domain on Emissions from Forests consists of CO2 emissions and removals corresponding to forest carbon stock changes (aboveground and belowground living biomass). Estimates are computed following the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (IPCC, 2006).