Data for 1996

Forest Area, 1996

Name: Forest Area, 1996
Creator: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
License: https://www.fao.org/contact-us/terms/db-terms-of-use/en/

1996, as FAO’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Forest Area, 1996 covers 205 countries. Suriname is highest, at 95.669; 4 countries share the lowest reading, 0.000. The middle country reads 31.749. Against 1995, 168 values changed (69 up, 99 down), the same countries are covered.

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Forest Area · Data for 1996

HighestSuriname

95.669

Lowest4 countries share it

0.000

Shaded by value in five groups of equal size, darkest at the highest end.

205countries
1measure
1996the year it describes
202distinct values17 decimals, as published
Sep 6, 2026read from the publisher
CC BY 4.0licence

01Position · derived

The table

Every country and every column of Forest Area, 1996, as published. FAO ranks nobody on this measure; the position is derived here by ordering the published values. “=” marks a shared position.

Search this table

Showing 25 of 205 countries · select a heading to sort

Forest Area, 1996: every country, as published by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
derived
1	Suriname`SUR`South America	95.669
2	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	94.439
3	Guyana`GUY`South America	94.384
4	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	92.074
5	Micronesia`FSM`Micronesia	91.069
6	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	90.765
7	American Samoa`ASM`Polynesia	89.330
8	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	86.625
9	Palau`PLW`Micronesia	84.800
10	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	80.216
11	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	77.619
12	Brunei`BRN`South-eastern Asia	76.546
13	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	76.223
14	Seychelles`SYC`Eastern Africa	73.261
15	Finland`FIN`Northern Europe	72.942
16	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines`VCT`Caribbean	72.154
17	Northern Mariana Islands`MNP`Micronesia	70.913
18	Sweden`SWE`Northern Europe	69.041
19	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	68.328
20	Brazil`BRA`South America	67.744
21	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	67.448
22	Belize`BLZ`Central America	66.444
23	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	65.133
24	Dominica`DMA`Caribbean	65.128
25	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	64.662
26	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	64.480
27	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	64.203
28	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	63.489
29	United States Virgin Islands`VIR`Caribbean	63.137
30	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	62.830
31	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	62.269
32	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	61.582
33	Honduras`HND`Central America	61.329
34	Samoa`WSM`Polynesia	61.215
35	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	61.063
36	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	60.900
37	Panama`PAN`Central America	60.644
38	Paraguay`PRY`South America	60.441
39	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	60.328
40	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	59.719
41	Peru`PER`South America	59.186
42	Colombia`COL`South America	57.345
43	Venezuela`VEN`South America	57.027
44	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	56.351
45	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	56.015
46	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	55.125
47	Cayman Islands`CYM`Caribbean	54.208
48	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	53.627
49	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	53.491
50	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	52.505
51	Marshall Islands`MHL`Micronesia	52.222
52	Grenada`GRD`Caribbean	52.059
53	Bolivia`BOL`South America	51.863
54	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	51.646
55	Bahamas`BHS`Caribbean	50.935
56	Ecuador`ECU`South America	50.900
57	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	49.404
58	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	48.191
59	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	48.117
60	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	47.952
61	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	46.918
62	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	46.552
63	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	46.452
64	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	46.209
65	New Caledonia`NCL`Melanesia	45.687
66	Guam`GUM`Micronesia	44.444
67	Puerto Rico`PRI`Caribbean	43.475
68	Saint Kitts and Nevis`KNA`Caribbean	42.308
69	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	42.012
70	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	41.678
71	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	41.415
72	Liechtenstein`LIE`Western Europe	41.375
73	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	40.779
74	French Polynesia`PYF`Polynesia	40.137
75	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	40.121
76	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	39.811
77	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	39.679
78	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	39.539
79	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	39.155
80	Canada`CAN`Northern America	38.814
81	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	37.703
82	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	37.575
83	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	37.470
84	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	36.956
85	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	36.938
86	New Zealand`NZL`Australia and New Zealand	36.684
87	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	36.374
88	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	36.284
89	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	35.720
90	Mexico`MEX`Central America	35.631
91	Saint Lucia`LCA`Caribbean	34.613
92	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	34.469
93	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	34.090
94	Andorra`AND`Southern Europe	34.043
95	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	33.423
96	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	33.392
97	Tuvalu`TUV`Polynesia	33.333
98	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	33.245
99	Norway`NOR`Northern Europe	33.185
100	United States`USA`Northern America	33.093
101	Germany`DEU`Western Europe	32.463
102	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	31.927
103	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	31.749
104	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	31.672
105	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	30.334
106	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	29.829
107	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	29.345
108	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	28.764
109	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	28.361
110	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	28.049
111	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	27.745
112	France`FRA`Western Europe	27.734
113	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	27.396
114	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	27.234
115	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	27.107
116	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	26.994
117	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	25.990
118	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	25.144
119	British Virgin Islands`VGB`Caribbean	24.573
120	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	24.088
121	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	24.007
122	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	23.338
123	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	22.863
124	India`IND`Southern Asia	22.242
125	Antigua and Barbuda`ATG`Caribbean	22.077
126	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	21.268
127	Chile`CHL`South America	20.966
128	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	20.902
129	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	20.486
130	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	19.487
131	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	18.821
132	Bermuda`BMU`Northern America	18.519
133	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	18.118
134	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	18.007
135	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	17.266
136	San Marino`SMR`Southern Europe	16.667
137	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	16.656
138	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	16.252
139	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	14.775
140	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	14.752
141	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	14.651
142	Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	13.888
143	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	13.845
144	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	13.567
145	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	12.469
146	Argentina`ARG`South America	12.463
147	Tonga`TON`Polynesia	12.431
148	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	12.319
149	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	12.120
150	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	11.919
151	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	11.713
152	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	11.659
153	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	11.199
154	Turks and Caicos Islands`TCA`Caribbean	11.074
155	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	10.897
156	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	10.481
157	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	10.228
158	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	10.134
159	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	9.241
160	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	8.838
161	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	8.782
162	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	8.171
163	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	7.440
164	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	6.888
165	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	6.682
166	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	6.574
167	Uruguay`URY`South America	6.517
168	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	6.099
169	Isle of Man`IMN`Northern Europe	6.070
170	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	6.064
171	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	5.664
172	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	5.165
173	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	4.237
174	Channel Islands`CHI`Northern Europe	4.192
175	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	3.994
176	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	2.924
177	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	2.733
178	Aruba`ABW`Caribbean	2.333
179	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	2.220
180	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	1.857
181	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	1.853
182	Palestine`PSE`Western Asia	1.508
183	Kiribati`KIR`Micronesia	1.457
184	Niger`NER`Western Africa	1.243
185	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	1.170
186	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	1.137
187	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	1.105
188	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	1.094
189	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	1.040
190	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	0.678
191	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	0.454
192	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	0.437
193	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	0.430
194	Iceland`ISL`Northern Europe	0.247
195	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	0.242
196	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	0.241
197	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	0.123
198	Faroe Islands`FRO`Northern Europe	0.057
199	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	0.053
200	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	0.010
201	Greenland`GRL`Northern America	0.001
=202	Gibraltar`GIB`Southern Europe	0.000
=202	Monaco`MCO`Western Europe	0.000
=202	Nauru`NRU`Micronesia	0.000
=202	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	0.000

02In 1996

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

1Suriname95.669
2Equatorial Guinea94.439
3Guyana94.384
4Gabon92.074
5Micronesia91.069

Lowest

202Qatarshared0.000
202Naurushared0.000
202Monacoshared0.000
202Gibraltarshared0.000
201Greenland0.001

Neither end is better. The values describe a shape, not a score. The middle country reads 31.749. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

031995 → 1996

Since 1995

What changed between 1995 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
168values changed, of 205 in both
69 · 99rose · fell
37unchanged

Rose most

Puerto Rico42.248 → 43.475+1.227
Dominican Republic36.922 → 37.703+0.782
Vietnam32.505 → 33.245+0.740
Spain31.033 → 31.672+0.639
Cabo Verde6.836 → 7.440+0.604

Fell most

United States Virgin Islands64.300 → 63.137−1.163
Indonesia60.673 → 59.719−0.953
Côte d’Ivoire20.354 → 19.487−0.867
Nicaragua49.022 → 48.191−0.831
Myanmar56.681 → 56.015−0.666

Both years come from the same release, so a difference here is a change in the data, not a revision of it. Every country’s full history is charted on the statistic page.

04Caveats

Read before you use

What this edition’s numbers are and are not, worked out from the file itself.

How values are stored

One year of the 2026 release
Every year in this series comes from FAO’s 2026 release, recalculated on one method. It can differ from what was first published for 1996.
202 distinct values among 205
Values are stored exactly as published, to 17 decimals. 4 countries share 0.000. Countries sharing a value share a position too.
The position is ours
FAO publishes values only; the order is this site’s.
Nothing missing
Every one of the 205 countries has every column.

05The files

Download and cite

The table as a file, digit for digit, what this site changed, and a citation for this edition.

Licence in full

.csv
For a spreadsheet or code
205 rows · 7.7 KB · UTF-8, opens in Excel
Opens with 11 lines of source notes; the table starts on row 13.
Download forest-area-1996-nations-inquiry.csv
↗
The publisher’s original
FAO’s own file, on its own site.
AG.LND.FRST.ZS

What this site changed: Reshaped into one row per country: regional and income-group totals are left out, only the columns listed are kept, each row gets its ISO 3166 code, and some country names are brought to one spelling. No value is recalculated, rescaled or rounded.

Licence: CC BY 4.0 · what it allows, in plain words

Cite this edition

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (1996). Forest Area, 1996 [data set], describing 1996. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/forest-area/1996

0634 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Forest Area, 1995
205 countries
The year after ›
Forest Area, 1997
205 countries
All of them
Forest Area: every year
34 held, with the data dictionary, coverage and licence.
How it has moved, charted by country

07Questions

Forest Area, 1996: questions and answers

Which country has the highest forest area in Forest Area, 1996?

Suriname, at 95.669, of the 205 countries in the file.

What year does Forest Area, 1996 describe?

1996.

How many countries does Forest Area, 1996 cover?

205.

Where can I download Forest Area, 1996?

On this page, as a CSV file holding every value exactly as published, or from the publisher’s own site, linked below.

Is Forest Area, 1996 the newest?

No. The newest held here is Forest Area, 2023.

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