Forestland — Area in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Forestland — Area was 2,121 1000 ha in 2025. ▼ Falling
Forestland — Area in Sri Lanka, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 2,121 1000 ha for forestland — area in 2025.
The figure is down 0.2% on the previous year and up 1.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forestland — area in Sri Lanka peaked at 2,370 1000 ha in 1990 and was at its lowest, 2,098 1000 ha, in 2015.
Sri Lanka ranks 101st of 223 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.
Forestland — Area in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 2,370 1000 ha | — |
| 1991 | 2,356 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 1992 | 2,342 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 1993 | 2,328 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 1994 | 2,314 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 1995 | 2,301 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 1996 | 2,287 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 1997 | 2,273 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 1998 | 2,259 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 1999 | 2,245 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 2000 | 2,231 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 2001 | 2,224 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2002 | 2,216 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2003 | 2,209 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2004 | 2,201 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2005 | 2,194 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2006 | 2,186 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 2,179 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2008 | 2,171 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 2,163 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 2,156 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 2,144 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2012 | 2,133 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2013 | 2,121 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2014 | 2,110 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2015 | 2,098 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 2,108 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 2,117 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 2,127 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 2,136 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 2,145 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 2,140 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2022 | 2,136 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2023 | 2,131 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2024 | 2,126 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2025 | 2,121 1000 ha | -0.2% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 2,121 1000 ha is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 2,294 1000 ha, 92% of the median. (52 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 2,121 1000 ha is below the median for South Asia, which is 2,398 1000 ha, 88% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 2,307 1000 ha | 2,245 1000 ha | 2,370 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 2,197 1000 ha | 2,163 1000 ha | 2,231 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 2,125 1000 ha | 2,098 1000 ha | 2,156 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 2,133 1000 ha | 2,121 1000 ha | 2,145 1000 ha | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
- 98 Dominican Republic 2,257 1000 ha compare
- 99 Lithuania 2,216 1000 ha compare
- 100 Bosnia and Herzegovina 2,162 1000 ha compare
- 102 Guinea-Bissau 2,100 1000 ha compare
- 103 Hungary 2,087 1000 ha compare
- 104 Malawi 2,032 1000 ha compare
More climate change data for Sri Lanka
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 327.09 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 3,418 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 618.46 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 2,800 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 2.33 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 100 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 4,168 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 2,071 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 2,097 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 7.82 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forestland — area in Sri Lanka?
- Forestland — area in Sri Lanka was 2,121 1000 ha in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest forestland — area recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 2,370 1000 ha in 1990.
- What is the lowest forestland — area recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 2,098 1000 ha in 2015.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for forestland — area?
- Sri Lanka ranks 101st out of 223 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forestland — area rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sri Lanka 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
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).