According to geographical.co.uk, the total forest area in the world is 4.1 billion hectares, or 32 per cent of Earth’s total surface area. The site has listed the top five countries with the largest area of forests in 2025. You might be surprised to see who’s in the top spot.
The site claims, since 1990, 489 million hectares of forest have been lost to deforestation, a constant threat to our forests.
While the rate of deforestation is actually slowing, so is the rate of forest expansion, dropping from 9.88 million hectares per year from 2000-2015 to 6.78 million hectares per year in the decade to 2025. Forests are vital and serve so many purposes: from regulating climate and protecting ecosystems to providing resources to the world.
Below are the top five countries with the biggest forests as of 2025, according to forest area, in reverse order:
5) China – 227,153 hectares
4) US – 308,895 hectares
3) Canada – 368,819 hectares
2) Brazil – 486,087 hectares
1) Russia – 832,630 hectares.
See the full story at geographical.co.uk.